Delta proposes bill to report every death in hospitals

AN executive bill that makes it mandatory the reporting of all maternal and perinatal death in Delta state is soon to be sent to the state House of Assembly.

According to the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. MordiOnonye, the bill, which legal framework is being fine tuned, is to ensure that any death, irrespective of where it occurs must be reported to the relevant authorities.

Rivers APC primaries, INEC and Supreme Court uncertainty

At the launching of the state Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) report for 2017 and 2018, Dr. Ononye disclosed that a maternal mortality ratio of 229 deaths per 100,000 live birth in 2017 and 264 deaths per 100,000 live birth in 2018 respectively, indicated that much still needed to be done as a state

“Delta state is committed to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three  with a target of a maternal mortality ratio of 70 death per 100,000 live birth and a neonatal mortality rate of 12 per 1000 live birth by the year 2030.”

Describing the report as first of its kind, covering data from secondary and tertiary health facilities in the state, Dr. Ononye charged health workers to work diligently in ensuring that mothers and newborns did not die needlessly, regretting that “it is becoming embarrassing that operators of our health sectors take life as if it has no meaning.”

In his remark, the UNICEF representative Dr. Eghe Abe,  while imploring the state to fast-track the enactment of the enabling laws for the confidential reporting of all deaths, said the  panacea to this scourge of death was  to find out how many deaths were  occurring, why the deaths were  occurring and the extenuating circumstances militating against proper and adequate response which constitute the major objective of the MPDSR programme.

He recommended that the state government should implement a functional blood transfusion policy that would make blood readily available for pregnant women and mothers.

Dr.  Abe emphasised the UNICEF’s commitment to continue partnership with the state government to ensure the realisation of the rights of children and women everywhere.

Highlight of the ceremony was the formal launching of the MPDSR report by the Secretary to the State Government, Hon. Festus Agas, who gave a road map on the commitment of the state in providing affordable and qualitative health care.