(Trinidad Guardian) Seven families whose babies died of neonatal sepsis over four days at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (P0SGH) have joined together to file a class action lawsuit for medical negligence against the hospital.
The parents, Shaniya Raymond-Adams, Natasha Samuel, Shaquille Harry, Danyelle Samaroo, Tinelle Saunders, Jodie Molino, and Shirese Moore-Beckles, are being represented by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC.
Ramlogan issued a nine-page letter to the chief executive officer of the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) yesterday outlining his proposed intent “to file an unprecedented class action claim for medical negligence based on the mass death of seven innocent babies.”
He said the families were contacted over the weekend to attend a meeting with top-level officials in the NWRHA yesterday but raised concerns about the purpose of the meeting, who would be in attendance, and whether the families were allowed legal representatives.
“While seven deaths have been exposed by the media, we wish to make it clear that we are still in the process of assessing the true impact and scale of this tragedy, as several other parents have since contacted us with similar horror stories regarding their experience at the PoSGH and the negligent death of their babies.
“We are therefore in the process of taking the necessary instructions and expressly reserve the right to add further claimants to this class action claim for medical negligence. In the meantime, we seek full, frank disclosure regarding the number of babies that have died at the PoSGH since January 1, 2024, to present,” the letter said.
Ramlogan said the families have expressed grave concern about the integrity of the medical notes and records for the mothers and their babies. Despite requesting these documents multiple times, they have yet to receive them.
“They are troubled by the bureaucratic stonewalling and continuing failure and/or refusal to provide these critical documents. They are worried that the medical notes and records could be changed and altered to fabricate a defence or mitigate the negligent conduct of the medical staff at the PoSGH,” the letter stated.
“We appreciate and understand our client’s fears and anxieties on this issue because we are involved in medical negligence cases in which we have reason to believe that the medical notes and records were doctored and changed. In other cases, the entire file containing the patient’s medical notes and records mysteriously vanished. We therefore see these concerns as legitimate and reasonable and therefore urge you to disclose our client’s medical records,” the letter said.
The letter said that a baby who was “suffering from a serious viral infection was transferred from the St Clair Medical Centre to the NICU in circumstances where the risk of transmission and exposure to infection was reasonably foreseeable.”
It said that no attempt was made to properly isolate our clients’ babies to prevent infection.
“In the circumstances, we intend to seek an order for disclosure regarding the transfer of this baby, which clearly placed our clients’ babies at serious risk and at compromise to their health with fatal consequences,” it said.
Ramlogan said he further intended to seek aggravated and exemplary damages “for the arbitrary and oppressive conduct of the staff at the PoSGH given the reckless, incompetent, unprofessional, and irresponsible manner in which our clients and the babies were treated.”
He said, “To knowingly expose innocent babies to such a clear risk of foreseeable harm without implementing appropriate preventative measures to manage the risk of exposure and prevent transmission is cruel and inhuman and could justify a criminal investigation to determine whether charges for manslaughter and misbehaviour in public office occurred.
“The fact that these deaths were hidden from the public with no timely statement by the Ministry of Health (which is quick to boast about the excellent level of health care in our public hospitals), speaks volumes. The “hush-hush” policy of the NWRHA illustrates that they were prepared to bury their heads in the sand in the hope that these deaths would be simply forgotten over time.”
He argued that the NWRHA had a duty to disclose the fact that six other babies had died at the NICU and in close proximity to each other.
“The NWRHA breached this duty to make full and frank disclosure and is therefore guilty of the worst form of hypocrisy and deception. It is clear that the plan of action was to deal with each family separately and individually in the hope that it could pacify them and simply let them walk away on the understanding that the pain and suffering over their loss would ease over time. Our clients will never, however, be able to overcome their loss, far less forget about the manner in which their babies were treated,” he said.
The brief life of Kae’ Jhene Kerniah Charles
Kae’ Jhene Kerniah Charles had a brief life.
According to the letter, her mom, Shaniya Raymond-Adams, 27, of Pole 51 Soriah Trace, Brazil Village, Arima, began having pains on March 31.
She was 32 weeks pregnant.
She was taken to the PoSGH by relatives. She arrived at the hospital at around 12.30 am, was examined, and was moved to the maternity ward at the PoSGH.
On April 1, 2024, at 4.22 am, Baby Kae’Jhene was born via caesarean section (C-section), weighing 1.141kg, with APGAR scores of eight at one minute and nine at five minutes. The letter said this meant that although the baby was premature, she was born in good, healthy condition. In accordance with the usual practice, the baby was placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
According to Ramlogan’s letter, the baby was strong and healthy, moving her arms and legs, and doing quite well.
“Her progress was noted to be ‘excellent’, and hence she was eventually taken off the ventilator on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Our client inquired whether this was safe, and the doctor assured her that there was no need for concern as the baby was sufficiently strong and healthy and could manage on her own,” the letter said.
On April 3, 2024, baby Kae’ Jhene appeared to be coping well without the ventilator. However, after being fed some milk, she vomited and displayed signs of discomfort.
Charles requested to see her baby but was told that everything was fine.
“Our client begged the nurse to summon a doctor to examine her child; however, despite our client’s persistence, the nurse simply reiterated that the baby was fine,” the letter said.
On April 4, 2024, the parents visited the NICU to see their child.
“They observed the baby vomiting again, and the medical staff indicated that they were administering antibiotics and that there was nothing to worry about. They persisted and said they wanted to know what was wrong with their baby, and they were eventually told that the baby had developed a blood infection. The attitude of the staff was very casual, indifferent, and secretive, as they appeared reluctant to disclose any information about our client’s baby,” the letter said.
On April 5, 2024, Raymond-Adams was suddenly advised that her baby’s platelet count and blood levels were low and that a blood transfusion was necessary.
“This sudden development left them feeling confused and frightened for their baby’s wellbeing. Later that evening, our client was discharged from the hospital, reluctantly leaving her baby in the NICU. They attempted to obtain updates by phone, calling the hospital at 7:56 pm where she was informed by a nurse that the blood transfusion had been successful and the baby had not experienced any adverse reactions. She was told that ‘all was well’ and that she should stop calling,” the letter said.
On April 6, 2024, around 5:30 am, Raymond-Adams received a distressing call from the hospital, urging her to come down immediately as the baby’s lungs were filling with blood and her heart rate was declining.
The couple (Raymond-Adams and her husband, Kerron Charles) rushed to the hospital.
“Upon arrival, the doctor informed them that the baby had already been resuscitated twice, and despite medication to stop the bleeding in the lungs, it recurred shortly after. Regrettably, the doctors then conveyed to our clients that they would cease resuscitation efforts.
“Our clients begged the doctor to continue efforts to save their baby to no avail. Tragically, their baby passed away at 10:21 am on April 6, 2024.
“Devastated, our clients were especially distressed by the sudden turn of events, as their baby was healthy and lively at birth, only to be pronounced dead five days later,” the letter said.
Ramlogan’s case against the NWRHA–Medical negligence
The staff and/or agents of the NWRHA were negligent in that they:
a. Permitted another baby with a serious infection to be admitted without taking the necessary precautions to manage and minimise the risk of infection and transmission to other babies in the NICU.
b. Failed to provide a clean, safe, and sanitised environment in the NICU.
c. Failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that the NICU was bacteria-free, knowing that only high-risk babies are admitted there.
d. Failed to properly adhere to and maintain industry standards for a NICU unit.
