Investigation ongoing in the death of seven babies in NICU |20 January 2024

(L to r) Ms Jean, Dr Louange, Prof. Fayon and Dr Rose during the press conference

 Other factors other than infections are responsible for babies’ death

Preliminary reports indicate that factors other than infections have been identified as the cause of death of some of the babies within a span of 10 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Seychelles Hospital.

This was revealed yesterday by the chief executive of the Heath Care Agency (HCA), Dr Danny Louange, when giving an update on the investigation announced on December 29, 2023, following the death of seven babies.

He was accompanied by Dr Javier Rose and Rita Jean, senior nursing officer from the Unit for Prevention and Control of Infection as well as Professor Michael Fayon, a Seychellois doctor who works at the Université de Bordeaux, France. Dr Louange explained that Professor Fayon was called in to assist with the investigation.

Professor Fayon shared that he worked with the Pediatric Unit back in 2019, where they made impressive progress. “When I received the invitation from the HCA, I willingly came to understand the situation. I extend my condolences to the families; we emphasised infections initially, but during the investigation, we found other conditions contributing to the deaths, especially in high-risk babies.”

“We cannot disclose all information at this point. It is a multifactorial situation, and there is no evidence that the bacteria caused the deaths. After 10 days, the situation in the NICU is stable,” said Professor Fayon, adding that all babies presently in the NICU are well.

“A pre-term baby is very fragile and their systems are fragile. I encourage all mothers to follow their pregnancy well and to try to go to 39 weeks. There is no baby that come to us that is not high risk. At the hospital, we will try our best to save the babies. Even years after, the babies have to be followed as they are prone to other issues,” said Professor Fayon.

To conclude he added that the situation was under control and they will make sure that it stays like that. “In a hospital, there is a permanent risk that we need to control. In the short term, we managed to control the situation and for the medium term we will have to keep communicating and see how to control the situation at its best. But for long term, I believe that we need to look at the environment.”

“A hospital of more than 25 years need thorough maintenance. The solution is to put pediatric and gynecology together and it will depend on the contribution of all,” added Professor Fayon.

For his part, Dr Louange reiterated that the NICU is safe and undergoing investigation to identify issues and improvements. Following the tragic events, infection prevention control measures were implemented, including thorough disinfection, restricted access, and staff support sessions.

Dr Louange added that the HCA immediately implemented the Infection Prevention Control after the deaths. “The NICU was thoroughly disinfected, controlling who can enter the NICU, the review of the usage of the personal protective equipment. Once done, the NICU has been tested again and it was all cleared. All staff are also being supported and they had a debriefing session with a psychologist. Whenever there is a situation that arises in the health care, we have a coping mechanism that is put in place.”

With regard to the babies’ parents, Dr Louange shared that they have been meeting with the hospital’s high-level officials.

Text & photo by Vidya Gappy