With the list of baby fatalities from the Port-of-Spain General Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) rising yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the Government would spare no effort to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted.
Rowley made the comment at the opening of the new Sangre Grande Hospital Campus, his first public appearance since his return from vacation in Ireland on Sunday.
“We, as a nation, we need the facts. We need to know, and we will leave no stone unturned to find out what happened in Port-of-Spain General,” he said.
At the time of the event, Rowley was only aware that at least eight babies had died from an infection at the hospital. However, that figure has since climbed to 11. Nevertheless, as he spoke on the incident for the first time, Rowley said he was distraught and sharing in the families’ grief.
“Today, I am particularly sad... Instead of enjoying the birth of young ones—and you know the tremendous happiness that brings to families—we as a nation have to face some kind of accident in one of our main hospitals, resulting in what appears to be some shortcoming and the loss of life of our newest citizens,” he said.
However, he chastised those who attempted to politicise the tragedy, amid calls from the United National Congress (UNC) for Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh to be fired.
“It puts a pearl of sadness on Trinidad and Tobago. For some people, that is an opportunity to jump on their horse and start to prance and parade and to blame. For me, as Prime Minister, I simply want to know what happened in Port-of-Spain General Hospital,” he said.
Although the quality of healthcare provided at the PoSGH is currently under intense scrutiny, Rowley recalled a time the hospital saved his first daughter’s life. He said Sonel was born at seven months and weighed just three and a half pounds, and during her days in NICU, he expected to hear she had not survived every day he visited her.
“But it was the outstanding healthcare delivery in that hospital that caused me today to be the happiest father in the country; my daughter not only survived but prospered,” he said.
Acknowledging that the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) had been asked to conduct an independent probe, the PM trained his guns on healthcare workers who did not take their jobs seriously.
“There’s a little poem I would like to remind you of: For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe, a horse was lost. For the want of a horse, the battle was lost and for the loss of the battle, the empire was lost. A nail could cause us to lose the empire,” he said.
“These facilities cost a lot of money. They are supported by large ongoing sums of money in annual expenditure. The intention is that they will bring benefits to each and every one of us. I ask you, do not at any stage in any place, take any aspect of your responsibility for a joke or be irresponsible,” he added.
He also urged healthcare workers across the country to mirror those at the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA), who did not wait on perfection to deliver exceptional healthcare. He said while T&T grapples with challenges in every area, the population needs to change its attitude. He said this will allow each sector to improve.