HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) has agreed to pay for independent counselling being sought by the parents of babies who died in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH).

He made this comment while responding to a question from Princes Town MP Barry Padarath in the House of Representatives on April 26.

Before Deyalsingh answered the question, Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George admonished Padarath for repeating Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's recent description of Deyalsingh as "the minister of death."

Persad-Bissessar ascribed this title to Deyalsingh at a news conference in Port of Spain on April 19 in relation to the babies' deaths.

Deyalsingh said because attorneys representing the babies' parents did not want the NWRHA to have any direct contact with the parents, the authority had agreed to a request from the attorneys to pay for private counselling that the parents were seeking.

He condemned the UNC for using the babies' deaths as a platform to attack the integrity of every health care worker.

Deyalsingh said he stands solidly in support of these workers, and the public health care system continues to function.

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