The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER high-ranking Pan American Health Organisation executive yesterday delivered several scathing observations of Princess Margaret Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

That unit was where eight babies were infected with the Acinetobacter Baumanni bacterium, which ultimately caused the deaths of two of them. Four of them have since been taken off ventilators and one was released.

Sir George Alleyne, director emeritus of PAHO and the Sanitation Bureau, said he was surprised that the facility had not seen more outbreaks of infection considering its condition. He added that under those conditions, medical staff had done a good job.

Dr Alleyne, who will also comprehensively review the case, gave the overview along with Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez and several PMH medical professionals at the Ministry of Health on Meeting Street.

“For all kinds of reasons,” he said, “there is overcrowding in that unit, and given the overcrowding and the difficulties in maintaining the internationally accepted spatial organisation of that unit, I think it is nothing short of miraculous that there have not been more outbreaks of infection.

“In some instances the sanitary practices may have left something to be desired.

“It is clear that the frequency of maintenance of the environment can be increased and can be improved — that’s an obvious short term thing that can be done.”

While it is impossible to guarantee that this type of outbreak will not happen again, Dr Alleyne said PMH should, however, take precautionary measures to reduce the possibility. He urged officials to also review the records of the 1996 outbreak of the same infection.

“The ultimate thing is there was an outbreak in 1996 and I think we should look again at what was agreed and see what were the factors that led to a decrease in those things that were exposed in 1996. And put in place some mechanism to ensure that what was recommended in 1996 does get mentioned at this time,” Mr Alleyne said.

Dr Gomez, yesterday, also repeated that the hospital had seen no new deaths as a result of the bacterium.

When asked if the government was then denying reports that an adult had died within a week of one of the infants, Dr Gomez said the woman did have the bacterium in her system, but that her death did not come as a result its infection.

“The lady that you refer to who died in the Intensive Care Unit died with the organism not because of the organism. She had multiple other problems, but she did not die of it. That’s what we call colonisation by bacterium as opposed to infection with bacteria,” Dr Gomez said.