– sources say deaths possibly caused by misadministration of treatment drug

THE Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has assured all concerned that it is conducting a “thorough” investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three children who were receiving treatment for leukaemia at the hospital.

“The Board of Directors of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) expresses sincere condolences to the parents, family members and relatives of Curwayne Edwards, Roshani Seegobin and Sharezer Mendonca, the three children diagnosed with leukaemia [and] who died subsequent to receiving chemotherapy at GPHC,” a release from the hospital stated.

Seven-year-old Edwards succumbed on January 14; Seegobin, three, died on January 18 and Mendonca, six, passed away on January 24. The trio succumbed after an alleged adverse reaction to medication, which was administered to them as part of the treatment for leukaemia.

After the first two deaths, the GPHC confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the deaths.

The release further stated that Chairperson of the GPHC board, Kesaundra Alves, met with the mother and relatives of Sharezer on Friday and assured them that a “thorough and transparent investigation” would be conducted.

The release from the GPHC also gave the assurance that equally thorough and transparent investigations will be launched into the deaths of Curwayne and Roshani.

“The board and the hospital administration are adamant that the facts and truth must be established without any hindrance,” the release said.

On Friday however, there was much confusion at the hospital after Mendonca’s body was delivered to the wrong family, resulting in an unauthorised autopsy.

The family had requested that the autopsy be postponed until the family’s private pathologist is available to oversee the undertaking. Due to the mix-up however, that autopsy was performed beforehand. Nevertheless, a second examination will be done on Monday, when the private pathologist will be present.

The release did not address what happened on Friday, however. Instead, it stated further: “GHPC understands the extreme distress and pain the families are facing at this difficult time and their anxieties for answers. The GPHC is making every effort to ensure that these investigations are completed in the shortest possible time, but we are duty- bound to ensure that due process is observed to allow for thoroughness and completeness of the investigations. Both the GPHC board and administration commit to full and total transparency and will continue to provide support for the families.”

Added to that, the correspondence from the hospital indicated that the GPHC is seeking to provide support to the healthcare professionals who are involved in the matter, as they too are experiencing a considerable amount of trauma and anxiety.

“We are assured that none of the parties involved acted with any wilful intent to harm these precious patients. This situation is one of unspeakable distress and trauma for all involved,” the hospital said.

MISADMINISTRATION
As investigations into the deaths continue, another local newspaper has reported that it has received information which indicates that there was nothing wrong with the drugs administered to the children, but it may not have been administered as it had been done.

The Kaieteur News reported that the medication used is known as Vincristine, a chemotherapy medication used to treat various cancers and Methotrexate, a medication that is administered orally.

Vincristine is an intravenous medication, which means that it is meant to be injected into a vein. The news report however alleged that the GPHC administered the medication through the patients’ spines, and that purportedly caused the complications that eventually led to their deaths.

Aunt of Mendonca, Azeena Bakraj, told the Guyana Chronicle that the family has been in contact with the hospital and was informed that the report would have been be completed by the end of last week.

That was not the case, but the family had been receiving incremental reports from the hospital, according to her.

“As of Friday, based upon the reports that [a medical professional] has been getting thus far, he said that there was nothing wrong with the medication or the dosage but the way in which it was administered,” Bakraj told this newspaper.

Bakraj related too that the family is currently seeking legal advice and stressed that there seems to be a lack of professionalism and due diligence at the GPHC.