GPHC awaiting Medical Council decision before taking further action
Deaths of 3 children
The three medical practitioners who were held responsible for the deaths of three juvenile leukaemia patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHPC) earlier this year are still on administrative leave as the institution awaits word from the Guyana Medical Council.
Three-year-old Roshini Seegobin and six-year-old Sharezer Mendonca
When contacted on Monday, a senior official at the GHPC said that the matter “is now in the hands of the Guyana Medical Council, and until a decision is made at that level, then the GPHC will take necessary action.”
The official noted that the three staff held responsible for not following protocols when administrating the pre-chemotherapy treatment are still receiving their salaries in full until further notice.
The doctors in question had administered the drugs incorrectly in that instead of intrathecal administration of the drug vincristine, they administered it intravenously. It was this that led to the adverse reactions of the three children and ultimately their deaths.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors at the GPHC, Kesaundra Alves at a press conference earlier this month, had told the media that an internal investigation by the hospital’s administration into the circumstances surrounding the treatment of the three leukaemia patients and their subsequent adverse reactions has revealed that human deficiencies and systemic challenges contributed to the demise of those three children.
She stated that an independent investigation by the Public Health Ministry was also launched and findings were similar to those of the GPHC’s; non-adherence to the hospital’s protocols led to the three young children succumbing at the GPHC.
Alves said that the GPHC would have shortly commenced the process of initiating action following the findings of these two reports. However, the GPHC is not the body that will determine the final outcome of those staff that were being investigated.
Administrative leave “That matter is not within our hands. Contractually, we can determine who works at GPHC but who is licensed to practice medicine in Guyana is a matter for the Medical Council of Guyana to handle. So we went as far as we could, sending them on admin leave pending a review of reports by the Board of Directors of the GPHC. As I said, this report came into our possession this week and the Board hasn’t, the Chairman has not had the chance to review it,” Alves had told the media at that press conference.
CEO of the GPHC, Brigadier George Lewis had also stated that with regard to the three medical staff involved in the incidents, their administrative leave commenced on January 29, 2019, and they would remain on administrative leave pending further review of the report and possible disciplinary actions if necessary.
The first child who died was seven-year-old Curwayne Edwards on January 14, followed by three-year-old Roshini Seegobin of Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on January 18.
The third child, six-year-old Sharezer Mendonca of Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, died on January 24. Mendonca’s body was given to the wrong family for burial in what was alleged to have been an attempt to cover up her true cause of death.
Parents and other activists have been calling for the suspension of medical licences from those doctors responsible for the deaths of children. (Kristen Macklingam)
“That matter is not within our hands. Contractually, we can determine who works at GPHC but who is licensed to practice medicine in Guyana is a matter for the Medical Council of Guyana to handle. So we went as far as we could, sending them on admin leave pending a review of reports by the Board of Directors of the GPHC. As I said, this report came into our possession this week and the Board hasn’t, the Chairman has not had the chance to review it,” Alves had told the media at that press conference.
