PARENTS whose babies died at the Port of Spain General Hospital's (PoSGH) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have described an independent investigation by a three-member Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as a "political pappyshow" since they were not even interviewed.
The claim was made in a preaction protocol letter sent to the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) on April 27, as another mother joined the class action lawsuit claiming negligence in the deaths of 16 premature babies, seven of whom died between April 4 and 9 to a bacterial infection.
The woman said her baby died on February 19, from "presumed sepsis" while warded in the NICU.
The letter, signed by attorney Sue Ann Deosaran of Freedom Law Chambers, said while their clients are happy with how quickly the PAHO team concluded its in-country work, they are concerned about the lack of transparency and fairness of the process. This is because it said none of the mothers, or fathers, whose babies died were contacted to provide a statement or be interviewed by the investigators.
"How on earth could an investigation be conducted into the death of these babies without interviewing their mothers who were the patients? Their experience at the PoSGH at the hands of the doctors and nurses is of obvious and critical relevance to such an investigation. It is patently unfair for the investigators to listen to what the doctors, nurses, and management have to say and base their findings on this one-sided version of what transpired. Our clients are human beings and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect because we are all equal in the eyes of the law and no one should be above the law," it said.
The letter said this omission explained why their clients' repeated calls for them to have an independent representative of their choice as part of the investigating team were rejected "without any form of explanation."
"It is clear that this investigation was nothing more than a political 'pappyshow' designed to do political damage control. It is nothing more than a public relations stunt designed to quell public outrage and anger over the death of these innocent babies."
In a release on April 26, the Ministry of Health said between April 22 and 26 the PAHO team met with officials of the ministry and NWRHA to "conduct a debriefing exercise arising from the in-country mission."
It said PAHO's review will continue and, upon completion, a report would be submitted to the ministry.
While the parents take issue with their omission from the PAHO investigation, the letter said they were also left out of the NWRHA's internal inquiry into the matter.
Joining in the class suit are market vendor Elisha Felix, 29, and taxi driver Stephen Rodney, 34, who lost their seemingly health baby girl, Azariah on February 19. Although the NWRHA has only confirmed seven babies died at the PoSGH's NICU within the first week of April owing to the presence of three bacteria, media reports suggest 23 babies similarly died at the hospital from as early as Augus
