Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

An independent investigation ordered by the Cayman Islands Ministry of Health has concluded that the decision to advise a Jamaican woman, who had gone into labour, to fly to Jamaica to give birth was a mistake.

In a statement sent to The Gleaner on Tuesday the Minister of Health, Anthony Eden, conceded that errors made by the staff of the Cayman Islands Health Service Authority (HSA) led to Ms. Woodstock giving birth on a Cayman Airways flight en route to Jamaica.

"Ms. Woodstock did not receive optimal medical care, or the support she needed in accessing medical resources," read the statement.

"It is noted that the failures in clinical care occurred despite the fact that the facilities, staff, and operating procedures are generally more than adequate to handle a case such as the one presented," he added.

The investigation, which was conducted by Dr. Santosh Kulkarni, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with the University Hospital of the West Indies, and Dr. Rudolph Stevens, found that, had more rigour been applied in clinical examination at the time, it would have been determined that the case was in fact within the HSA's capability to manage.

Mr. Eden said the auditors' conclusions were based on reviews of the detailed records of the incident, regular operating procedures that are followed in Cayman, international standards applied in such circumstances, and interviews held with key persons in the case.

The review also found that health insurance did not play a direct role in the decision to send Ms. Woodstock to Jamaica because hospital staff, in fact, never verified her insurance status.

Respiratory support

The health minister said the 19-year-old was advised at the hospital that the baby's best chance of surviving would be for her to deliver in Jamaica because respiratory support there is better, and there would be a high cost delivering in the Cayman Islands, given that her insurance benefit would not have been adequate.

However, the investigation found that the hospital did have the available resources to care for Ms. Woodstock and her baby, and has done so in the past with a good survival rate.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the health minister offered a personal apology to the mother.

Ms. Woodstock's story created much uproar in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands when it was reported that the 19-year-old gave birth to a premature baby girl on-board a Cayman Airways flight bound for Jamaica.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com