The People’s National Party (PNP) has demanded the immediate resignation of Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, in the wake of revelations about the deaths of 12 babies at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) as a result of an apparent outbreak of the Klebsiella Pneumoniae bacteria.

In a statement this afternoon, PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, also called for a comprehensive probe into the deaths of newborns, which he estimated account for 43 per cent of the neonates in the nursery at the VJH. 

Campbell described Tufton’s acceptance of the deaths of the babies and their families’ trauma, as “callous and unacceptable”.

He said: “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.”

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

In 2015, then Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson came under similar fire after it was revealed that 19 babies had died at local hospitals following an infectious outbreak caused by klebsiella and serratia.

Ferguson was ultimately shifted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security due to public outrage over his classification of the newborns as “not babies in the real sense”.

According to Campbell: “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 said it was not enough for Tufton to merely publicly admit to the tragic loss and indicate that “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,” Campbell said.

In the meantime, the PNP general secretaries colleague and Opposition spokesman on health and wellness, Dr Morais Guy, also indicated that he shocked and disappointed on hearing of the deaths of the babies.

Guy said it was even more alarming that Tufton knew of the deaths but opted to not inform the public.

“Information such as this should not be embargoed indefinitely from the public because it does not fit into the matrix of one’s political career,” Guy remarked.

He noted that, according to the information now available to the public, seven babies died in July, two in August, another two in September and one reported for October.

Guy said this represented a gross dereliction of duty and called for Tufton to give the country a full explanation of “the latest dead babies saga afflicting the country’s premier maternity institution, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital”.

Added Guy: “He must tell us how many babies died, what the parents were told, and whether they were offered any post-traumatic psychotherapy and support.”

He said he expected Tufton to break his silence on the issue, “going beyond the soundbite already offered to a segment of the media and provide the nation with the facts and measures taken to mitigate the situation”.

Said Guy: “Every expectant mother who enters the institution must feel confident in the quality of the
service delivery and that no harm will be inflicted upon them and their newborn.

According to reports, review conducted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness determined equipment challenges and overcrowding contributed to the increase in infant mortality at the VJH.