Just hours before retired principal Arnold Buckridan was laid to rest, officials of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) announced that an investigation has been launched into his death. Buckridan, 68, of Rock Road, Penal died at San Fernando General Hospital on Tuesday night from septicaemia and organ failure. Yesterday, San Fernando General Hospital Head of Medicine, Dr Kanterpersad Ramcharan, addressing a SWRHA media conference in San Fernando, revealed that an investigation into Buckridan's death was under way.
T&T Guardian exclusively reported that Buckridan, former principal of the Penal Rock Presbyterian Primary School, died at 10.30 pm on Tuesday while receiving treatment at the High Dependency Unit at SFGH. He was warded last week Monday after he complained of feeling unwell. By last week Thursday, according to relatives, he became unresponsive. Buckridan was buried at the Penal Rock Road Cemetery yesterday. Ramcharan, addressing questions on the incident, said given the constraints of patient confidentiality, he could not divulge details of Buckridan's medical condition or his medical history.
However, he admitted: "We are looking at it very closely...We have an investigation process going on and I think at the end we can report back on that." Ramcharan said there were many factors that might be involved in Buckridan's death. He said he could not go further into the matter at this stage. He said: "Surely the relatives feel aggrieved...We will look at it and see how best we can deal with it within our power."
Buckridan's daughter Zenobia welcomed the investigation. She said she hoped the investigation was conducted swiftly and would be followed by action. "We feel a lot better...We hope that they actually do something about it and not because it is in the press they are doing this," she said. "We also hope that they do it in a short space of time and this is not a long drawn-out process." Zenobia added that the family wanted "justice to be served so we can all get closure and move on."