Attorneys representing the parents of baby Amelia Williams are calling for full disclosure on what if any changes were made to details contained in her medical records.
These concerns and others were raised in a 14-page pre-action protocol letter sent to the North-West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) yesterday, following the child’s death at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital earlier this month.
Baby Amelia died on April 2 from a suspected bacterial infection and was one of 11 babies who died from similar circumstances at the PoSGH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between February and April.
The letter, which was sent by attorney Sue Ann Deosaran, of Freedom Law Chambers, noted that while the NWRHA had provided medical records on seven of the 11 babies who have died, they were unclear on why the documents on the remaining four infants were not provided.
“No explanation has, however, been provided as to why the medical records for the first three babies who died before these seven babies, and the one baby who died after, continue to be suppressed and withheld by the NWRHA,” the letter read.
“The medical records we are in receipt of to date are not in any way voluminous and we are at a loss to understand why it would have taken the NWRHA so long to scan and email same to us.”
In a media release on Saturday, the NWRHA assured that the NICU continued to function, adding that several pieces of “misinformation” had been circulated in public and they were unable to correct such statements.
However, Deosaran, in the letter, said her clients, who include the parents of other babies, believed the failure of the NWRHA to provide the documents was part of a wider plot to suppress information from surfacing.
“However you twist it, cut it or dissect it, our clients and indeed the wider population cannot be tricked into believing that it would take more than 57 days to photocopy, scan and email the medical records for baby Kyrie George Bhagan who died since February 22nd 2024,” Deosaran.
“Regardless of the level of incompetence and mismanagement at the NWRHA, this simple exercise would not take more than two to three hours.”
On Friday, it was reported that the NWRHA’s Infection Prevention and Control head, Dr Darrel Jones, was sent on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigation into the death of the babies.
However, Deosaran said, her clients considered this a “token gesture” and believed that those involved may still be on duty with access to notes and records.
Referring to the death of Skiye Samuel on April 9, Deosaran called for answers on why the cause of death listed was changed from sepsis to presumed sepsis.
The letter sought answers to questions relating to who had access to the babies’ medical records, what changes were made to the contents of the records, who authorised the changes and why parents were not notified of these changes.