THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yesterday, disclosed that the Honorary Consul General of Guyana in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Ernie Ross, has requested the Minister of Health Fuad Khan to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Guyanese national Jeetindra Sookram.

The 35-year-old man allegedly died from a suspected heart attack one hour after staffers at Trinidad and Tobago’s Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) denied him medical attention on the basis that he was a foreigner.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry stressed its concern over the reported incident and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodriques-Birkett has assured that the matter is already under investigation and has also reaffirmed the principle that no one should ever be refused emergency medical attention at any hospital.
Sookram, after being turned away at EWMSC, was then rushed to a private clinic, Charlieville Medical Centre Ltd., but died in the backseat of the vehicle, transporting him, in the facility’s parking lot.
In a comment to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian newspaper, Sookram’s wife, Vidya Baichu, said, “He could not sit and he could not stand because the pain was getting to him more. It kept getting worse so we took him to the hospital.
“When we got there, I went in with him and they took him straight to the place where they took blood and did tests. When I went to register him now, they asked for ID and I gave them his passport. They told me he is not a Trinidadian resident and so all the services, we would have to pay for it. We asked them how much was the cost, they said they were not able to say, but whatever service they do we would have to pay for it.”
Meanwhile, Rodrigues-Birkett said that “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be aggressively pursuing the matter with the authorities of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is requesting that the bereaved family members make contact with Mr Ross at the Guyana Consulate at 16 Gray Street, St Clair, Port-of-Spain or on telephone number 868-622-2913.
Sookram, a Wakenaam farmer, was on a two-week vacation in Trinidad and Tobago.

(By Vanessa Narine)