KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) has lashed out at the Opposition, telling them not to politicise health care.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and its affiliates have called for the sacking of Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson over the outbreak of health care-associated infections at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) and Cornwall Regional Hospital which have claimed the lives of 18 babies since June.

However, the PNPYO said in a release last evening that the Opposition “must immediately remove their favourite politically coloured lenses and call a spade a spade”.

The organisation explained that kledsiella is well known as one of the most common hospital bugs, causing possible fatal illnesses worldwide.

“Kledsiella’s spread among neonates does not average above six per cent in Jamaica, including the deaths this year, and while statistics will not bring back the lives of some of our youngest Jamaicans, we still fare better than some more economically successful countries, such as Brazil with a 50 per cent affected rate of its neonates” the PNPYO argued.

The Opposition, in its call for Dr Ferguson’s sacking, also said it doubts the minister’s claim that he acted as soon as he was informed of the situation.

A defensive Ferguson on Tuesday maintained that he only learnt of the deaths last Friday, the same day news surfaced about the shocking incident.

The minister’s claim has been substantiated by the chairman of the UHWI board who pointed fingers at the hospital’s management for not bringing the outbreak of the deadly bacteria to the Ferguson’s attention in a timely manner.

The PNPYO last evening said that it is “alarming but not strange, coming from the JLP and its affiliates, the absolute silence with regards to bringing the responsible and senior staff at the UHWI and/or Ministry of Health to book”.

The organisation added that “the JLP’s record on health is far from stellar and so throwing stones while living in a glass house is foolhardy”.