The Prime Minister has to act! President of the T&T National Nurses Association (TTNNA), Idi Stuart said if the Prime Minister wants his words to have meaning he would have to immediately order the Ministry of Health to set up the Health Sector Accreditation Council which would be responsible for accrediting and monitoring all hospitals in the country.
Reacting to the Prime Minister's promise to "leave no stone unturned" in the investigation into the deaths of newborns at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Port-of-Spain General Hospital, Stuart said as far as the association is concerned there is one clear decision he has to make.
"We would want to reiterate that if the Prime Minister, as the Head of Cabinet does not initiate the Ministry of Health and the Minister of Health to bring on that independent statutory body to ensure all private and public hospitals are accredited as being called for by the association, which has been on the cards for more than two decades, then his statement would ring hollow," Stuart said.
The Health Sector Accreditation Council was proposed in 2002 as part of Health Sector Reform. The body was suggested as an agency with the role of establishing the operating guidelines for all local hospitals. The proposed body was also responsible for monitoring and ensuring that rules were adhered to.
Speaking on CNC3's The Morning Brew on Tuesday, Stuart called the deaths of several infants in the NICU as shocking.
"The amount of babies losing their lives in such a short space of time between April 4 to April 7, within one institution over infection is something that is not generally seen," he said.
As it relates to the work the Regional Health Authority is doing to improve cleanliness and safety in the wake of the deaths, Stuart said he was not optimistic because of the lack of implementation of the recommendations from the Health Sector Reform over 20 years ago.
Despite the calls from the Opposition for the Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh to resign over the incident, Stuart was resolute that there was no need for him to leave. However, the TTNNA head said Dr Shaheeba Barrow, Medical Chief of Staff at Port-of-Spain General Hospital needs to be sent on temporary leave until the investigation into what caused the outbreak of the nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection is complete. Stuart said while not casting aspersions, it would be a managerial shortcoming for her to remain in active service.
"Seeing that that has not been done, we don't envision much to come out the investigation," he said.