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10 percent of newborn deaths can be avoided – Dr Jagdeo
Five million babies die at birth every year worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. The WHO statistics were amplified yesterday by Dr Joe Jagdeo who since yesterday has been engaged in delivering lecture sessions to nurses. These sessions are aimed at improving nursing care.
The sessions which come as part of the observance of nurses week represent a collaboration between the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Guyana Burn and Health Care Charitable Foundation Inc. of Canada which is headed by Mr Harry Harakh, and his wife, Pamela.
According to Dr Jagdeo, of the five million deaths per year nearly 10 percent can be prevented by minimal intervention. This, he said, can be achieved if medical personnel are furnished with the relevant knowledge, and not necessarily “any fancy high-tech equipment…”
Dr Joe Jagdeo demonstrates how to resuscitate a newborn yesterday
“In countries like Guyana this need for knowledge is great and it is not like we have to invest thousands of dollars in hi-tech equipment…It is very simple basic training that is necessary.
“If the people who are in attendance at our sessions can feel confident that they know what to do and can do it and they have the right equipment and simple supplies such as oxygen, suction equipment, bag and mass…”
Dr Jagdeo, who is actively involved in newborn care, said yesterday that maternal and newborn mortality is not merely a problem that exists in developing countries such as Guyana but even in many developed countries as well.
He is usually tasked with attending to high risk deliveries in the hospital setting and such cases could include emergency caesarean section or in some instances challenges during labour which could lead to a possible complicated delivery.
“Resuscitating the baby during the first few minutes is crucial because if you don’t do the right things and give the baby the appropriate care you could end up with a fairly compromised baby.”
“That is something that I know is necessary in almost every country even developed countries. So by teaching the nurses in Guyana how to feel comfortable in that area, because they are frequently the only ones that are present especially out in the country areas.
“They are the ones that are delivering the babies so if you can give them a certain comfort level after the baby is born even if the baby is not breathing or heart rate is weak or the baby is otherwise compromised; if you can teach them the initial skills just to get things going then you can save a life and they will feel so much better at what they do.”
Dr Jagdeo, a Guyanese by birth, attended Queen’s College ahead of migrating to Canada at the age of 18. He then sought to further his studies at the University of Toronto and then ventured into medical school after which he opted to specialise in paediatrics. Although he is an established professional in a developed country, Dr Jagdeo has been returning to Guyana to render his medical expertise to those in need over the past 10 years.
“Initially, I was coming with another group and we would go do clinics in the Pomeroon and Berbice and in various under-privileged areas. One of the reasons that I started doing that was because I wanted to always give something back because Guyana gave me my basic undergraduate high school training and I thought that was the one way that I could pay back.”
He however joined forces last year with Mr and Mrs Harry Harakh of the Guyana Burn and Health Care Charitable Foundation Inc. of Canada. The occasion then was the Nurses’ week observance and saw Dr Jagdeo disseminating his knowledge to nurses during lecture sessions at the Liliendaal Project Dawn location.
“I jumped at that because I have always felt that nursing is an integral part of what we as doctors, especially paediatricians do because it is a team effort…”
According to Dr Jagdeo, doctors depend highly on the observation of nurses and their expertise and “I felt that if in some way I can do something that can enhance their skills then that would be something useful.”
“The feedback that we had gotten from last year was good. They said that they enjoyed what I’d exposed them to and my hope this year too is that they would take what they learn back into their clinics and hospitals and put it into practice.”
Though the training maybe considered “a drop in the ocean” Dr Jagdeo expressed his hope that at least one or two nurses will be inspired and pass the knowledge on to their colleagues.
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