San Juan, Oct 28 (EFE).– Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller sent her condolences Wednesday to the families of the 19 babies who died in outbreaks of bacterial infections at two hospitals in Jamaica.

“I extend sincere sympathies to parents and other members of the families of those children who died. The Ministry of Health and the Minister will look at the present system to see what needs to be done to ensure that what happened will never, ever happen again,” Simpson-Miller said in a statement.

The prime minister urged the Health Ministry to accelerate efforts to investigate the causes and origins of the recent deaths of two newborns.

A total of 19 newborns have died from bacterial infections since June at the University Hospital of the West Indies and Cornwall Regional Hospital.

The infections were caused by klebsiella and serratia, two common types of bacteria.

Most of the fatalities were premature babies.

The Health Ministry said it had taken steps to increase monitoring of sanitation practices, improve training of hospital staff and restrict items allowed into nurseries, among other measures. EFE