debut: 2/16/17
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7 babies die in less than a week at POSGH of sepsis
The parents of at least seven babies who died between April 2 and April 9 at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital are calling for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding their babies’ deaths. The babies, all under 32 weeks, died from sepsis. Guardian Media understands that at least one other baby is in critical condition. The North West Regional Health Authority, in a press release issued on Thursday evening, confirmed the deaths of the babies saying it was as a result of infections. The authority said laboratory tests detected the presence of three dangerous organisms—Serratia marcesens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes.
“Despite administering high-dose antibiotics and providing advanced and intensive cardio-respiratory support, the infection claimed the lives of some of these preterm babies, all weighing under 1500 grammes and less than 32 weeks gestational age. “Throughout this challenging ordeal, senior doctors were present providing care to the babies. Parents were regularly updated of their conditions. All parents have been referred to our Medical Social Work Department for bereavement counselling,” the NWRHA said in its release.
Before the NWRHA’s release, three sets of parents, Guardian Media spoke with, said that the true case of the deaths was not revealed to them. They had questions about how the situation was handled. The parents all said the deaths came as a terrible surprise because, before the weekend, their children were all healthy. One mother, who asked not to be named, wept uncontrollably as she spoke, pausing numerous times during the interview to try and compose herself. She said she doesn’t know where to begin to come to terms with the loss of her daughter.
She said she fought hard for her girl, spending a month in the hospital because of hypertension issues, and then having an emergency C-Section, only for this to happen.
“She started to see. She was moving. She would have been four weeks on Saturday. Everything was well. I held her, I spoke with her. All the tests they took showed nothing.“There were no signs of infection at that point, until around Saturday I got a call from the hospital saying that they moved her and put her in the back. I don’t know where. I don’t know why they moved her, but they had moved her from that area. After that, when I went in on Saturday to look for her, I realised all the babies, who were with her, weren’t there. The hospital staff was doing cleaning, intense cleaning. But they never told us what it is—even up to now,” the mother said.
The parents of at least seven babies who died between April 2 and April 9 at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital are calling for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding their babies’ deaths. The babies, all under 32 weeks, died from sepsis. Guardian Media understands that at least one other baby is in critical condition. The North West Regional Health Authority, in a press release issued on Thursday evening, confirmed the deaths of the babies saying it was as a result of infections. The authority said laboratory tests detected the presence of three dangerous organisms—Serratia marcesens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes.
“Despite administering high-dose antibiotics and providing advanced and intensive cardio-respiratory support, the infection claimed the lives of some of these preterm babies, all weighing under 1500 grammes and less than 32 weeks gestational age. “Throughout this challenging ordeal, senior doctors were present providing care to the babies. Parents were regularly updated of their conditions. All parents have been referred to our Medical Social Work Department for bereavement counselling,” the NWRHA said in its release.
Before the NWRHA’s release, three sets of parents, Guardian Media spoke with, said that the true case of the deaths was not revealed to them. They had questions about how the situation was handled. The parents all said the deaths came as a terrible surprise because, before the weekend, their children were all healthy. One mother, who asked not to be named, wept uncontrollably as she spoke, pausing numerous times during the interview to try and compose herself. She said she doesn’t know where to begin to come to terms with the loss of her daughter.
She said she fought hard for her girl, spending a month in the hospital because of hypertension issues, and then having an emergency C-Section, only for this to happen.
“She started to see. She was moving. She would have been four weeks on Saturday. Everything was well. I held her, I spoke with her. All the tests they took showed nothing.“There were no signs of infection at that point, until around Saturday I got a call from the hospital saying that they moved her and put her in the back. I don’t know where. I don’t know why they moved her, but they had moved her from that area. After that, when I went in on Saturday to look for her, I realised all the babies, who were with her, weren’t there. The hospital staff was doing cleaning, intense cleaning. But they never told us what it is—even up to now,” the mother said.
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