Sirjusingh appointed Director of Women’s Health

An average of eight pregnant women die every year in this country based on the approximate 18,000 babies born annually. The ministry revealed on Tuesday at a news conference held at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, that complications during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the director will review the operations of all of the public health facilities where women go to deliver babies. Sirjusingh’s appointment has been approved by cabinet in response to the alarming number of deaths and maternal mishaps at hospitals in years gone by.

Deyalsingh, during a visit to the San Fernando General Hospital on January 1 (New Years Day) to congratulate mothers of babies born on that day, had announced that there were less such deaths in 2016.

There were only three maternal deaths, he said, and after the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) was invited to audit the country’s health systems, it was discovered that post-partum haemorrhage was the main cause of such deaths. Sirjusingh, who chairs the Zika Pregnancy Committee in the ministry, sat on two recent prime ministers’ committees to review the country’s health services in which recommendations were made for the improvement of health care.

Deyalsingh said, “I had challenged the public health system that by the year 2020, our maternal mortality rate should match that of developed countries.” Sirjusingh’s mandate, according to the ministry, is to ensure that there are clear national strategies, policies and clinical guidelines for this area of health in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s sustainable developmental goals for 2030. One of the objectives is reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.