98 newborn, 10 maternal deaths recorded at GPHC for 2023

– over 300 critically-ill pregnant women saved

A total of 637 babies have been delivered at the Georgetown Public Hospital, while an additional 148 who were delivered at various health centres and private medical facilities have subsequently been admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Step-Down Unit for 2023.
These statistics have been provided by medical experts during an end-of-year press briefing on Thursday, where it was further revealed that a total of 98 newborn babies died within an average of twenty-eight or more days of their birth. In addition, 10 maternal deaths have been recorded.
However, it has been stated that a large number of these newborn babies had been diagnosed with presumed sepsis or prematurity, and had required respiratory support, according to Coordinator of Neonatal Services, Dr Sara Singh.
She nevertheless pointed out that the number is the lowest number of neonatal deaths recorded since 2011, while adding that the department’s goal is to decrease neonatal mortality through improved services and proper prenatal care for pregnant women.
“Just so we all grasp the enormity of this accomplishment: in 2019, there were 124 deaths; in 2020 and 2021, there were 118 deaths and there were 129. The average number of deaths within the last 11 years, 2012 to 2022, was 150, in comparison to 98 in 2023. That’s a difference of fifty-two; that’s 52 more babies that have survived this year in comparison to the average over the last 11 years,” she explained.
All departments in the NICU have been renovated this year. Specifically, the Step-Down Unit has been expanded to accommodate nine additional beds. To boost its capacity and efficiency, that department also received 10 warmers, 10 incubators, and new general medical officers, among other things.
Dr. Singh said these measures played an integral role in increasing the department’s vigilance and ability to ensure babies are not exposed to infections due to overcrowding.
Additional accommodations were made at various facilities for babies who require special care. “We have found alternatives to increasing our numbers in the NICU. If we were at capacity, patients were now transferred or referred to other hospitals or facilities that have doctors who graduated from our residency programme here at Georgetown Public Hospital. Through the IHSE made available at these hospitals to manage the sick neonates, West Demerara Hospital, Linden, Suddie, and New Amsterdam Hospital are all outfitted with ventilators, so we work very closely with these and other hospitals to deliver optimum care,” she disclosed.
Meanwhile, 10 maternal deaths have been recorded at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), Guyana’s main referral hospital, for the year so far. Three women died due to ectopic pregnancies, three due to respiratory disorders, another three died of hypertensive conditions during their pregnancies, and one faced a hypovolemic shock after her c-section.
This is according to the hospital’s Chief Consultant Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr. Rafi Rozan, at the press engagement on Thursday.
“…as compared to the two previous years, there would’ve been a decline (in the number of maternal deaths),” Dr. Rozan said.
Dr. Rozan also explained that six of the 10 patients who succumbed this year were referred to the GPHC from other hospitals in a critical state, and some of them were from outlying regions. These were all high-risk cases; but, notably, over 300 women in critical conditions were saved throughout the year.
Further, there were 54 stillbirths this year thus far.