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Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Jamaica. (Photo via CMC)
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie says there has been an increase in the number of newborn deaths at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) since the start of June.
In a statement on Thursday, the CMO, however, stated that the rise is not linked to an outbreak of infection at the island’s main maternity hospital.
In a statement, she said the Ministry of Health acknowledged public concern over the recent deaths at the hospital’s Special Care Nursery, which caters to critically ill or premature newborns.
“The Ministry of Health and Wellness has reviewed the deaths at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital Special Care Nursery since the beginning of June 2025. There has been an increase compared to the previous months and to the same period last year. The deaths are not attributed to an outbreak of infection at the facility,” said Bisasor McKenzie.
Although she did not specify how many babies have died since June 1, the CMO said the data showed a significant number of the deceased were medically fragile.
“We have seen that there has been an increase in the number of admissions to the Special Care Nursery since the start of June, and there has been an increase in the proportion of critically ill babies. Of the babies that died, 55% were premature and 60% had low birth weight. This adds to the fragility of these babies.”
Despite the efforts of the staff, some of these babies have succumbed to their illnesses,” she added.
The statement comes amid growing scrutiny following confirmation earlier Thursday from South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA) head Lascelles Brown that “several premature babies” had died at VJH in recent weeks.
In a subsequent statement, the authority said: “preliminary data collection indicate that the majority of the affected babies were born prematurely with significant factors that could have predisposed to serious illness”.
Meanwhile, Brown, speaking with Radio Jamaica News earlier, said a deeper investigation was underway to determine the cause of the deaths.
“The regional technical team, the regional technical director and the other specialists, including the SMO at VJH, they are currently conducting deeper analysis to find out what is the nature or the cause of those deaths,” Brown said. “So I await those reports and after that meeting, then I’ll be able to make a definitive statement.”
Brown noted that an uptick in neonatal deaths is not uncommon during Jamaica’s annual “peak season” for births, typically starting in June, when maternity hospitals see a rise in both deliveries and admissions to neonatal units.
“Premature babies have died and that has happened from time to time…especially coming up to this time of the year…we usually have an increase in premature babies and some not make it,” Brown explained.
Bisasor McKenzie similarly signalled that the ministry is anticipating a seasonal surge in births and is stepping up preparedness islandwide.
“As we are at the beginning of the time when we see an increase in the number of births, every effort is being made across the island to prepare our healthcare workers and our facilities to adequately manage all cases.”
To address immediate concerns at VJH, she said SERHA and the hospital have implemented additional safety and operational measures.
“The regional health authority (SERHA) and the facility have put several measures in place to decrease the likelihood of infections, including increased spacing among the babies and enhanced infection prevention and control measures. The region also has put in place measures such as redeployment of staff and enhanced supplies and equipment monitoring to ensure that the capacity to manage the babies is optimized,” said the CMO.
