COOUTH, Anambra Health Ministry Move to Strengthen Surveillance of Maternal, Child Deaths
By Titus Eleweke
The Management of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku, Awka, is set to partner with the Anambra State Ministry of Health to strengthen the surveillance, documentation, review and reporting of maternal, perinatal and child deaths as part of efforts to identify gaps in healthcare delivery and reduce preventable fatalities across the state.
The proposed collaboration, under the Maternal, Perinatal and Child Death Surveillance and Response (MPCDSR) initiative, is aimed at improving the monitoring and investigation of deaths, identifying weaknesses in healthcare services and promoting appropriate interventions to prevent avoidable loss of lives.
In a statement issued by the COOUTH PRO Team, the initiative was described as a step towards strengthening clinical accountability, improving the quality of patient care and ensuring that lessons from maternal, perinatal and child deaths inform measures to prevent similar occurrences.
Receiving a delegation from the Ministry of Health at the COOUTH Boardroom on Friday, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Maureen Uche Umeakuewulu, described the proposed partnership as a welcome development, emphasising the importance of systematically monitoring and reviewing maternal, perinatal and child deaths to improve healthcare outcomes.
Dr. Umeakuewulu stressed that the effective implementation of the initiative would require the active involvement of relevant departments and units of the hospital, including Planning, Research and Statistics; Medical Records; Pharmacy; Information and Communication Technology (ICT); Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Paediatrics; Laboratory; and Nursing.
She explained that bringing the various departments together would ensure effective coordination, comprehensive documentation and the application of their respective professional expertise in reviewing cases and developing appropriate responses.
According to her, a coordinated approach would strengthen the hospital’s capacity to identify shortcomings in patient management, improve clinical decision-making and ensure that findings from case reviews translate into practical interventions.
Leading the delegation, the Permanent Secretary of the Anambra State Ministry of Health, Dr. Obiageli Uchebo, explained that the initiative would involve routine review meetings by the Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics departments to examine cases of maternal, perinatal and child deaths, document findings and submit reports to the appropriate authorities.
She noted that the review process would help establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, identify possible gaps in patient care and generate evidence to guide interventions aimed at preventing similar occurrences.
Dr. Uchebo also highlighted the Federal Government’s sponsorship of emergency accident victims, children under five years of age and pregnant women. She emphasised the need to introduce a unified referral form to capture information about healthcare facilities where patients had received treatment before being referred to COOUTH.
She explained that comprehensive referral documentation would improve the tracking of patients’ treatment histories, facilitate follow-up and strengthen the monitoring of patient outcomes, particularly in cases involving referrals from other healthcare facilities.
The Permanent Secretary commended the Paediatrics Department of COOUTH for its existing practice of regularly reviewing cases, particularly through its monthly meetings held on the last Thursday of every month.
She observed that the department’s established practice provided a useful foundation for strengthening the proposed surveillance and response initiative, while encouraging sustained collaboration among the relevant departments.
The Ministry’s Desk Officer for Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response, Ikeanyionwu Ijeoma, called for closer collaboration between the Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics departments to ensure that all relevant cases received comprehensive reviews.
She stressed that stronger interdepartmental cooperation would promote more effective case identification, documentation and reporting, while ensuring that findings from the reviews informed appropriate interventions.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of COOUTH underscored the importance of autopsies in investigating unexplained deaths, particularly those involving newborns with suspected congenital complications.
He explained that post-mortem examinations could provide valuable medical evidence to establish the causes of death, clarify suspected congenital conditions and improve understanding of the clinical circumstances surrounding such cases.
The meeting also featured an interactive question-and-answer session during which participants discussed strategies for strengthening surveillance, improving documentation, conducting regular case reviews and promoting effective collaboration among the hospital’s departments and units.
The proposed partnership underscores COOUTH’s commitment to strengthening maternal and child healthcare, improving clinical accountability and supporting efforts to reduce preventable deaths in Anambra State.
The initiative also aligns with the health vision of Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, to improve healthcare delivery and promote better health outcomes for Ndi Anambra.
