“Covering-up” of maternal deaths not unlikely

“Covering-up” of maternal deaths not unlikely – Dr Luncheon

Jun 07, 2013 News

Moves to ‘cover-up’ maternal deaths by hospitals are in fact closely monitored by a Cabinet-appointed expert group which was put in place some years ago under the tenure of former Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy.
However, this has not prevented the group from operating in a slothful manner, said Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon. He was at the time speaking at the most recent hosting of the Post-Cabinet Press briefing at Office of the President.
According to him the group, which is still operational, is made up of a number of specialists who are tasked with reviewing post mortem and other reports of maternal and infant mortality from various institutions where deaths occur. These reports, he explained, would indicate the circumstances of the deaths.
However, he disclosed on Wednesday that “I am on record saying to my colleagues that Cabinet is unhappy about the reports and the commitment to get those comprehensive reports in a timely way.”
Speaking about the most recent maternal death at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Dr Luncheon said that “I think we will have to prepare ourselves to obtain a report from this expert group in an untimely way. We won’t get it tomorrow or next week.”
“I won’t be surprised if that report gets to the committee in July for a death that occurred in early June. That is where our dissatisfaction lies.”
Moreover, he disclosed that although Cabinet is eventually provided with the various deaths and the relevant information, the issue of concern remains with the submission of the considerations by the expert group that currently sits at the Ministry of Health.
He also pointed to the fact that since the monitoring of the deaths depends on the considerations of the expert group, which examines the circumstances of mortality and subsequently make recommendations, it is rather unfortunate that “those things don’t flow in a timely way.”
As such he alluded to the importance of the Health Ministry to expedite that process, thereby allowing Cabinet to follow the circumstances and put in place needful recommended interventions to forestall or decrease the incidence of maternal deaths.
He however disclosed that there are a number of deaths that are unavoidable due to devastating occurrences or tragic outcomes during labour, a state of affairs which is not unique to Guyana.
“Your chances are slim when these occurrences take place…that which will occur during the terminal stages of pregnancy during labour that could lead to death of mother and child,” Dr Luncheon added.
The Cabinet Secretary noted though that in the stances where deaths are avoidable it is not unlikely that there may be some interest in having those details covered up, “that is why Cabinet’s monitoring has been put in place.” However, he noted that while the work of the expert group has suffered from sloth of its implementation, its operation has certainly not been abandoned.

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“Covering-up” of maternal deaths not unlikely – Dr Luncheon

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“Covering-up” of maternal deaths not unlikely – Dr Luncheon

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