Senior officer dismissed over bacteria outbreak

The Vice-President of Quality with the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) has been dismissed following an internal investigation on the outbreak of enterobacter bacteria at the neonatal unit of Mt Hope Women’s Hospital last September.

Jenny Gobin was suspended in early October after a committee appointed by the Board of directors of the NWrhA submitted a report into the circumstances which contributed to an increase in enterobacter bacteria at the unit. The report raised several questions concerning the quality procedures in place at the hospital. The investigating committee conducted interviews to “follow up” its initial report, and last month Gobin was notified via a letter that her contract would be terminated. “In the end, she was head of quality and it was a quality issue to the extent that no quality controls were in place to deal with it,” a source told Newsday. While some personnel have been shifted to other areas, the other recommendations made by the committee did not include dismissal or suspension of additional workers.

The post of VP quality has since been made redundant since four senior vice-president positions were created. Quality has been included with information technology, and communication under the corporate services portfolio. The NWRHA has also hired a quality coordinator who is responsible for implementing the NWRHA’s approved health service protocols, policies and systems to ensure the achievement of targetted quality standards. Ten babies were evacuated from the neo-natal unit last September after they showed varying stages of the bacteria. The increase from the normal number of cases prompted a sanitisation exercise at the unit and the labour and delivery areas of the hospital. The Ministry of Health also did its own investigation to determine if the deaths of 15 babies in August were linked to unsanitary conditions at the unit.

Efforts to contact Gobin yesterday proved futile. Meanwhile, the latest probe into the resurgence of enterobacter bacteria at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital is “nearing the end” said NWRHA corporate communications manager Charmaine Codrington. The NWRHA is awaiting a report from Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne about infant deaths at the neonatal unit after allegations that enterobacter bacteria claimed the lives of several babies at the facility.