The T&T National Nurses Association is concerned about the sudden alleged decommissioning of equipment at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH).
Association president Idi Stuart yesterday said hours before PAHO officials paid their first visit to the hospital to begin their probe into the recent deaths of seven babies, staff were ordered to “cease and desist” from using certain equipment.
However, he said the association raised the concern hours after officials revealed the three-member PAHO investigative team on Monday.
The PAHO team includes Dr Nalini Singh MD, MPH Professor Emeritus-in-residence, Professor of Pediatrics, Global Health and Epidemiology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA; Dr Grisel Rodriguez. MD, PH Clinical Microbiologist, Head of Microbiology, Centro de Asistencia Medica Soriano. Expert in IPC, AMS. PAHO International Consultant based in Uruguay and Dr. Gillian Birchwood, MD—Newborn Intensive Care Specialist and Head of the Neonatal Care Intensive Unit at the QEH, Barbados.
The three-member team started their independent investigation at the NICU and have since interviewed several nurses, including members from the Infection Prevention and Control Unit.
Stuart claimed that according to information his association received from members, it is alleged that a lot of the managerial deficiencies were being cleared up. This, he said, could make it difficult for the PAHO team to make a proper assessment.
“We are actually witnessing PAHO is upstairs and stuff being cleaned up downstairs. So, they in one room and equipment is being moved out from another room. So these things are going on now, so we not sure as to what is going to happen. We also got notification that where the nurses were asking for individual equipment to be able to do their screening test on the babies, they had to share one between different babies and now all of a sudden each baby has their own device,” Stuart claimed.
Stuart said equipment for every baby was something they had been seeking for quite some time. He said he hopes the equipment remains at the unit even after PAHO officials complete their investigation. He also said he was hopeful that staff are true in their testimony to the PAHO officials.
“The only hope is if the staff who are there, who work for the very authority, work for the very management, still have the fortitude to tell PAHO that this wasn’t so you know. We don’t even know if after they leave, if it will remain or if some of those equipment will be taken away, so it’s going to be a real challenge,” Stuart said.
He explained that the only way for units to be maintained at international operations standard is for the Ministry of Health and Minister of Health to work on moving the National Health Accreditation Bill to an act.
This move, he said, will allow a permanent statutory body to constantly review quality, service and the quality of institutions within all public and private healthcare institutions in T&T.
“If they don’t live up to the standard set out in the act and in the health sector, the accreditation standards manual for the health sector, then they could be closed down from that point. So for instance, if the Oncology Unit not up to scratch, they could close down the Oncology Unit,” Stuart said.
At the end of all investigations, Stuart hopes that the truth will be exposed, good sense will prevail and prevention will be made a top priority from henceforth.
When contacted for comment, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.
However, he said, “I will await the PAHO report before commenting.”