THE baby whose magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) test was paid for with help from Express readers has been given a clean bill of health by doctors.

Born on October 1 at San Fernando General Hospital, the baby was discharged last Thursday after spending several days in the intensive care unit (ICU) and paediatrics ward.

The birth will soon be registered and the middle name chosen for her is Faith.

Her mother Asha Mowlah said yesterday: "She really tested our faith in God. She received a lot of prayers from everybody and we are grateful for that."

Asha and her husband Hamza had made an appeal for help in raising the money because $7,500 was needed to pay for the MRA that was done at Southern Medical Clinic in San Fernando.

Within a few hours of the Express report, the couple had the money to pay for the MRA, a test that is often used to check the functioning of blood vessels leading to the brain, kidney and legs.

Hamza told the Express when his daughter was born, the doctors found her feet were red.

The doctor caring for the baby gave Mowlah a letter on behalf of South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), allowing him to make an appeal for funds.

Asha said yesterday: "The baby is doing fine. All the tests done on her came back negative, but she still continues to go to the clinic and the doctors will continue to monitor her. They don't know what is causing the redness but it is not as bad as how it was."

The hospital could not foot the bill for the baby's MRA because of a recent directive from Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan.

SWRHA chief executive officer Anil Gosine told the Express that for the past eight weeks, all regional health authorities were instructed by the Minister to stop paying for services needed by patients at private facilities until approval was given.

Gosine said the Minister was putting new procedures in place for patients who access public health care but are unable to receive the proper treatment because of a lack in equipment or services in the public health system.

In July, Khan said private health facilities were benefitting from the State's incapability to properly treat some sick patients at public health institutions and he would be looking at new strategies to prevent the backlog of medical procedures.

Last week, during his contribution to the budget debate, Khan said the outsourcing of speciality services from private hospitals was stopped in order to save millions. He said for this year the cost of outsourcing services dropped at the SWRHA from $34.5 million to $1.1 million.

Khan said a plan has been put in place to develop the public health sector by training young doctors in the very speciality areas that were being outsourced.