An official at Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal said Saturday that the institution didn't purposely hide details of a bacterial outbreak that killed six babies in 2004 and 2005.

When the babies were in the neonatal unit, the parents "were informed of the details we were aware of at that point," Dr. Isabelle Amyot, director of medical services, told a news conference.

Khiem Dao, Sainte-Justine Hospital's executive director, said the hospital never intended to hide information from parents.
(CBC)

The hospital was obeying the law, which limited information hospitals could release about the cause of the deaths, she said.

"We are very sorry for that," she said.

Khiem Dao, the hospital's executive director, said "there has not been at any time any intention of hiding information from the parents."

Hospital officials were responding to an investigation by the CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada that revealed the babies' deaths from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

One set of parents had complained publicly that the hospital didn't reveal the true cause of their son's death.

But Amyot said that no parents were ever left out of the loop.

The hospital also pointed out that only four of those six children died as a direct result of the bacterium. In the other two cases, the bacterium was a contributing cause of death.

Amyot said about 50 premature babies were infected with the bacterium, but there have been no new cases since April 2006.

Wrong message

Montreal's public health department said it's worried that parents are getting the wrong message.

Given that the outbreak has been over for a year, "it's highly unlikely that something like this is going to recur again," said acting regional director Dr. John Carsley.

"They are very unusual occurrences and I think parents should not get the message that Sainte Justine is [a] place full of germs and of danger."

Amyot said hospital pressure led the province to change the law in November 2005 so parents of deceased children under 14 could be told about the cause of death.

The hospital is now rebuilding its neonatal unit.

Hospital staff said the deaths were partly due to the bacteria commonly found in the building's aging water pipes.

Pseudomonas is found in tap water, but premature babies may be more susceptible because their immune systems are weak, Amyot said.

With files from the Canadian Press