PNP calls for Tufton’s resignation, probe into baby deaths Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The People’s National Party (PNP) is calling for the immediate resignation of Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, and a comprehensive probe into the deaths of babies in the nursery at Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH).

Twelve babies died as a result of a bacterial infection at the Kingston hospital during the summer.

Following media reports of the baby deaths, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, disclosed that 16 babies were infected after the bacterial outbreak at the island’s largest maternity hospital since July. Of that number, 12 died.

The minister explained that seven babies died in July, two in August, two in September, and one in October.In a release Thursday, the party’s General Secretary, Dr Dayton Campbell, described the Tufton’s acceptance of the deaths of the babies and their families’ trauma as “callous and unacceptable”.

“While neonatal mortality due to infection is not uncommon, a 43 per cent mortality rate is alarming, and people must be held accountable for this massive death toll,” he said.

Campbell also shared that ministers of previous Government administrations have lost their portfolios for neonatal deaths with far lower mortality rates.

“Infection control is seminal to the management of neonatal nurseries, and to leave the staff at VJH without the necessary tools to ensure this infection control is tantamount to a dereliction of duty,” he added.

The PNP general secretary insisted that it’s not enough for the health minister to “merely publicly admit to this tragic loss and stop short by saying a high-profile team has been sent in”.

“This approach neither shows accountability to the families of the neonates lost nor inspires confidence in the expectant families, whose babies may need neonatal care in the nation’s premier maternity facility in the near future,” the release said.

The PNP also expressed condolences to the families who lost their babies and said it hopes that the appropriate grief counselling is put in place to help them in this emotionally trying time.

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