The story of two infant deaths at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Princess Margaret Hospital got international attention over the weekend through the Associated Press. Meantime, answers to the outbreak of the bacterium Acinetobacter Baumanii have been slow to reach the public.
When The Tribune contacted Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez at his home yesterday, he said he was too “busy” to talk, explaining that he was being disturbed on “my Sunday”.
He asked: “Ya’ll don’t go to church?”
While the outbreak in the NICU occurred almost one month ago, the PHA did not inform the public through the media until last Friday. And Dr Gomez explained in an interview with another media house that he was not immediately informed of the outbreak.
Dr Hubert Minnis, former Minister of Health and the leader of the Opposition, told The Big T that there was a similar incident in 1996 when it is believed nine infants may have died.
At that time, he said, the World Health Organisation was called in to investigate the matter.
“If the same hygienic protocols were followed, how could such an outbreak occur again?” he said.
