The North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) has issued a strongly worded denial of claims made by the Trinidad and Tobago Nurses Association (TTNNA), categorically rejecting assertions that midwifery staffing at the Mt. Hope Women’s Hospital was dangerously inadequate on the night in question.
The rebuke comes in response to public statements made by the President of the TTNNA, who alleged that there was “one midwife to nine patients in labour” at the facility on 4th May 2026.
In a media release issued Wednesday, the NCRHA described the TTNNA’s assertions as “factually incorrect, misleading, and unsupported by verified records,” and went further — characterising the statements as “seriously prejudicial to its reputation and potentially defamatory.”
The Authority said it notes with “grave concern” the public nature of the claims and rejected, in the strongest possible terms, any suggestion of medical negligence or that requests for additional nursing support had been denied.
The NCRHA pointed to internal records to counter the TTNNA’s account, detailing staffing levels across all three shifts on 4th May 2026 at Mt. Hope Women’s Hospital:
- Morning shift: Three (3) midwives present, with three (3) births recorded
- Afternoon shift: Two (2) midwives present, with two (2) births recorded
- Night shift: Two (2) midwives present, with two (2) births recorded
The Authority confirmed that these records were verified by the Medical Chief of Staff of the Mt. Hope Women’s Hospital, Professor Bharat Bassaw, who remained on site until approximately 10:30 p.m. on the date in question.