An investigation has been ordered into the increased infant mortality rate in The Bahamas in a move to get to the bottom of the rise in deaths and reverse it, Minister of Health Senator Dr. Bernard Nottage said yesterday.
Dr. Nottage, who was the special guest on Jones and Company on Sunday, admitted that the country’s infant mortality has been “creeping up” over the last five years.
“One of the first things I did when I went to the Ministry of Health, when it was brought to my attention, was to call a meeting of the technical advisory group – all of the doctors, principal nurses, administrators – and we went through this whole thing and I’ve ordered an investigation to be carried out for us to determine what is the reason,” he told the show’s host Wendall Jones.
“My job is to get to the bottom of it and to provide the policy decision or the equipment or the financing or whatever is required, to reverse it.”
The opposition raised the alarm over the rise in infant deaths last month, saying that the rate had risen to 19 per thousand live births. FNM leader Hubert Ingraham said that his administration drove the infant mortality rate from more than 24 per thousand live births to below 12.
The infant mortality rate is considered internationally to be a sound indicator of a nation’s health and development.
According to the latest figures available from the Ministry of Health, for the year 2004, the rate was 17.3 deaths per 1,000 births, up from 12.7 deaths per 1,000 in 2001.
Dr. Nottage said yesterday that over the period that the increase has taken place, there have been no change in policies and there has not been any extraordinary shortage of availability of resources.
“We’ve improved the conditions of the maternity ward. We have more consultant [OBGYN] physicians than we’ve ever had, so really there is no reason why we should be seeing any deterioration,” he said.
Dr. Nottage also announced that the second round of meetings with health stakeholders is about to begin, when the government will indicate what adjustments it is able to make and its overall objectives regarding the proposed National Health Insurance plan.
“We are looking at and listening to every single objection, criticism, advice and contribution made by all stakeholders,” said the minister.
Dr. Nottage said that when he took over the ministry he decided it was best not to continue with public meetings, based on the amount of input the government had already received relating to the proposal.
The questions and criticisms, especially those raised by local doctors in the private and public sectors, have been reviewed and consultants have made some suggestions on the way forward, he said.
“I don’t expect at the end of the day there will be a very wide gap between ourselves and the stakeholders or the providers of care,” said Dr. Nottage.
By: Erica Wells, The Bahama Journal
