NWRHA ACCUSED OF TAMPERING WITH RECORDS

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Freedom Law Chambers, the Attorneys representing the parents of eleven babies who died in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Port of Spain General Hospital between February and April, is accusing the North West Regional Health Authority of tampering with the medical records of at least one of its clients.     The NWRHA said the 1st Certificate was issued immediately following the death of the neonate, based on the presentation of the symptoms, before the results of any tests were obtained and it was believed at that time that the blood culture would have returned positive so sepsis was indicated on the Certificate.  Subesquently the parents registered the birth of the neonate with the name Skiye Wilson...and the Death Certificate had to be amended to allow the death to be registered by the Registrar of Births and Deaths.  The parents went to the NWRHA on April 19th, however the doctor who filled out the 1st Certificate was not on duty to make the amendments on the original Certificate, so as is the usual practice a new Certificate had to be issued. By this time, the laboratory results were obtained and revealed all blood cultures to be negative for bacteria or fungi, so factually, sepsis was no longer a definitive cause of death, but now only presumed, given the neonate's symptoms.    Alicia Boucher has the details.

Transcript

00:00The accusation of tampering comes as Natasha Samuel, who lost her baby on April 9th, received

00:08a death certificate stamped on April 9th, stating that her baby Sky had died of pulmonary

00:13hemorrhage, sepsis and prematurity.

00:16But another death certificate issued on April 19th cited the cause of death as pulmonary

00:21hemorrhage, presumed sepsis, prematurity and an extremely low birth weight.

00:29This has caused concern for Freedom Law Chambers, echoed in a pre-action protocol letter issued

00:34on April 20th on behalf of another parent, Shaquille Harry, whose baby died on April

00:396th.

00:41The law firm states, quote, given our clients' ongoing concern about the fraudulent tampering

00:46of the medical records, we demand an urgent explanation from you as to why on the death

00:52certificate for baby Sky Samuel, the cause of death was changed from sepsis to presumed

00:58sepsis.

00:59Interfering with and changing the cause of death without any explanation, far less notification

01:05to the mother and or her lawyers is downright malicious, dishonest and unethical, end quote.

01:13Freedom Law Chambers says it has been in daily correspondence with the NWRHA in which concerns

01:19have been raised that a delay in their clients receiving their requested medical records

01:24is a quote unquote sinister attempt to sanitize and fraudulently alter the records.

01:31On another note, the law firm says it has been instructed that staff at the hospital

01:36are being influenced to ensure that their accounts of what transpired follow a particular

01:41narrative in what the attorneys refer to as singing from the same hymn book.

01:47Freedom Law Chambers states in the latest pre-action letter, quote, we therefore call

01:52upon you to disclose your policy and to make a public announcement ensuring all employees

01:58in the NICU department that their jobs will not in any way be in jeopardy and there will

02:03be no form of victimization or retaliation against them for speaking the truth, end quote.

02:12Attorneys for the parents have also put forward a request to have their clients retain an

02:16independent expert of their own in the control of infectious diseases appointed as part of

02:22the investigating team at the cost of the NWRHA.

02:26The NWRHA has been asked to indicate its position on that proposal.

02:31The law firm has also asked for the scope of the investigation and the time frame as

02:36well as for the report on the investigation to be made public and a commitment to be given

02:42that recommendations made would be implemented among other things.

02:47Well in response the NWRHA said today that two death certificates dated April 9th and

02:52April 19th were both properly issued by the authority.

02:56It explained that a death certificate is a legal document which must be completed accurately

03:02with the proper and factual information once that information is available.

03:07The NWRHA said the first certificate was issued immediately following the death of

03:12the neonate based on the presentation of the symptoms before the results of any tests were

03:17obtained and it was believed that at that time the blood culture would have been returned

03:23positive so sepsis was indicated on the certificate.

03:26Subsequently the parents registered the birth of the neonate with the name Sky Wilson and

03:31the death certificate had to be amended to allow the death to be registered by the registrar

03:36of births and deaths.

03:38The parents went to the NWRHA on April 19th however the doctor who filled out the first

03:43certificate was not on duty to make the amendments on the original certificate so as is the usual

03:49practice a new certificate had to be issued.

03:52By that time the laboratory results were obtained and revealed that all blood cultures were

03:58negative for bacteria and fungi so factually sepsis was no longer a definitive cause of

04:04death but now only presumed given the neonate's symptoms.

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