Caroni East MP Dr Rishad Seecheran wants Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh to ensure that a ‘thorough and time-bound review be conducted to ensure there is no recurrence of these gross failures in the Regional Health Authorities.”
This follows a High Court ruling against the Ministry of Health for failing to provide specialised health care to a six-year-old Chaguanas boy with birth defects associated with the Zika virus.
Seecheran described the case is an example of the “lawlessness” perpetrated by the current administration and the lack of care provided to the public in the health system.
“The verdict of Justice Joan Charles exposes the chronic inefficiency in the public health ector under the PNM’s administration,” Seecheran said in a release.
“This landmark judgment exposes gross negligence as well as the lack of duty of care to citizens accessing healthcare in the public health sector under the current administration. Undoubtedly, there are many more such unfortunate examples which may have affected the lives and even caused the deaths of innocent patients. This typifies the uncaring and arrogant attitude to governance that exists in Trinidad and Tobago.”
He said residents in Guayaguayare are pleading for improved access to medical care after complaints of no ambulance service in the area and no doctors at the Mayaro Health Facility.
“This comes after tens of millions of additional funds were allocated to the Global Medical Response of Trinidad and Tobago in the mid-year review. Minister Deyalsingh demonstrated that he has been unable to provide quality healthcare services in south-east Trinidad despite enormous sums being allocated to the Ministry of Health,” he said.
On Friday, High Court Judge Joan Charles upheld a judicial review lawsuit brought against Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, the ministry’s permanent secretary and the Attorney General’s Office by Ramkissoon-Ragoo on behalf of her son.
Justice Charles ruled that Deyalsingh and the ministry’s permanent secretary breached their duties under the Regional Health Authorities Act by failing to implement comprehensive guidelines and protocols for treating Davyn and other children like him. She said it constituted a breach of the country’s international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Justice Charles ruled that the ministry’s failure to provide urgent and specialised care to Davyn breached his constitutional right to life and ordered that he and his family receive compensation, including aggravated damages to be calculated by a High Court Mastere.
She also ordered that the ministry immediately begin providing Davyn with the treatment he needs and provide ongoing financial assistance to his family.