Lawyers request documents in NICU deaths probe

Senior Multimedia Journalist

[email protected]

Freedom Law Chambers, which is representing 17 families whose neonates died at Port-of-Spain General Hospital’s (POSGH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between December 2020 and April 22, 2024, has made a Freedom of Information Act Request seeking documents related to the North West Regional Health Authority’s (NWRHA) investigation into the April NICU deaths.

The law firm, headed by Anand Ramlogan, SC, is seeking a copy of the NWRHA’s investigative report; copies of all statements taken; terms of reference; terms and conditions of the appointment of investigators; and information on any disciplinary charges that have been preferred against any member of staff from the NWRHA or the POSGH based on the investigation.

In the request sent yesterday morning, they expressed disappointment that the NWRHA opted to keep its investigative report ‘secret’. It was argued that any potential prejudice the NWRHA may face from disclosing the internal investigative report is clearly outweighed by the benefits of transparency and accountability.

According to the law firm, the deaths of the neonates along with the findings of PAHO’s report, have deeply affected the public, highlighting concerns about systematic deficiencies within the NICU.

“Withholding this crucial information risks further eroding public trust in the NWRHA’s ability to address systemic issues. Transparency not only fulfils a moral obligation but also ensures accountability and enhances patient safety. By releasing the report, the NWRHA can show its commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance, fostering public confidence and facilitating prompt implementation of reforms recommended by the PAHO report to prevent any recurrence of this horror story.

“The NWRHA has suddenly made a U-turn in this matter. It has now advised that it has decided to keep its investigative report secret and withhold the same from our clients. This unexpected position contradicts our understanding from our ongoing correspondence, where we were led to believe that both investigative reports would unequivocally be disclosed to the public interest,” the letter to Alana Bissessar of the Pollonais, Blanc, de la Bastide & Jacelon law firm said.

According to the letter written by Sue Ann Deosaran, NWRHA CEO Anthony Blake promised transparency into the babies’ deaths, publicly indicating that there was going to be full disclosure once the investigation was completed.

Freedom Law Chamber said their clients expected that the NWRHA would then provide them with access to the investigation, once it was completed.

On Saturday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the investigation’s report was completed, being reviewed by the ministry, and was expected to be delivered to PAHO soon.

“It was only in your recent letter dated June 5, 2024, that you suddenly indicated that “with respect to the investigation report, while the investigation commenced almost immediately after the occurrence of the incident, upon receipt of your pre-action protocol letters, the investigation is now being done solely for the purposes of litigation and to allow our client to answer the allegations contained in your letters. Accordingly, on that basis, the investigation report will be a privileged document that will not be disclosed to you.”

This sudden alteration in position came as a considerable shock and disappointment to our clients, who had been relying on the NWRHA’s earlier commitments to transparency, accountability, and full disclosure,” the law firm wrote.

They stated that given the Health Minister’s criticisms of PAHO’s report into seven neonatal deaths between April 2 and April 9 and the ‘unreasonably long’ time taken to complete the report, they have reasonable grounds to suspect the report was biased and designed to exculpate the NWRHA from any wrongdoing.

“Our clients have waited with bated breath to be interviewed by the NWRHA in connection with this investigation; however, they were never contacted by any representative from the NWRHA in relation to same. How on earth could the NWRHA have conducted an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the deaths of these babies without interviewing the mothers?

“This suggests that the NWRHA was not interested in doing a fair and independent investigation in the first place. Instead, it was doing a politically convenient report that was merely a public relations gimmick that was intended to buy time to quell public outrage and do damage control,” it stated.

Several other parents stepped forward, claiming negligence in the deaths of their neonates due to alleged infections or improper care.