JAMAICA | Health Minister Chris Tufton Must Go! says PNP Gen Sec Dayton Campbell

KINGSTON, Jamaica. October 27, 2022.  While the People’s National Party spokesman on Health and Wellness is calling for full disclosure over the 12 dead babies at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, the party’s general secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell wants the immediate resignation of Health Minister Christopher Tufton.

In a statement this afternoon, Dr. Campbell, himself a medical doctor,  has called for a comprehensive probe into the deaths of 43% of the neonates in the nursery at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH).

The PNP General Secretary has described the Minister’s mere acceptance of the deaths of these babies and their families’ trauma, as callous and unacceptable. 

“While neonatal mortality due to infection is not uncommon, a 43% mortality rate is alarming and people must be held accountable for this massive death toll,” Dr. Campbell said. He observed that Ministers of previous Government administrations have lost their portfolios for neonatal deaths with far lower mortality rates. 

“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,” Dr. Campbell said, pointing out that “It is not enough for the Health Minister to merely publicly admit to this tragic loss and stop short by saying 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,” the PNP General Secretary concluded. 

The PNP has expressed condolences to the families who have lost their babies and hopes that the appropriate grief counselling is put in place to help them in this emotionally trying time. 

-30-