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.
Comments