Reporter
carisa.lee@cnc3.co.tt
The parents of a four-year-old boy who died at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) on April 17, are rejecting the North Central Regional Health Authority’s (NCRHA) response to their attorneys after alleging that medical staff negligence led to their son’s death.
Ishwar and Abena Clement maintain that at no point did doctors or nurses indicate that their son Ayden’s condition was critical. The child had been admitted to the hospital with a swollen knee and a limp.
“In early February, we carried him (to the hospital) after two days we saw him with a little limp when he was walking and climbing,” Ishwar said.
An autopsy later revealed that Ayden died from heart and breathing failure, multiple organ failure, bleeding and fluid in the lungs, a blood infection, and a suspected bone infection.
Ayden’s father said his son spent only one night at the hospital, but they chose not to admit him further—against doctors’ advice—because medical staff did not explain what was wrong. Ishwar said that after hearing “so many horror stories” about the hospital, he was reluctant to leave his only child there.
“My questions to them were, ‘Why are you warding him?’ They didn’t say he had an infection, they didn’t say he was sick, or that they found something,” he explained.
The Clements said they then took Ayden to two private healthcare providers, who both prescribed antibiotics. When his condition did not improve, they were advised to bring him back to the EWMSC. During the roughly three weeks he remained warded, the parents said that despite repeatedly asking for updates, they were consistently told not to worry.
By then, Ishwar said, his son’s limp had worsened.
“He could move his leg, but because of so much pain, he refused to walk,” Ishwar said.
He told Guardian Media that during Ayden’s stay, he questioned why his son was given three different antibiotics, why he had a seizure, and why his neck was pulsating. Each time, he said, medical staff reassured him that there was nothing to worry about.
Abena had a similar experience on the day of her son’s MRI. She said she was asked to leave the room shortly before Ayden died.
“I asked the nurse if everything was okay. She said, ‘Yeah, when he comes out, you have to join him in the clinic downstairs.’ A while later, the staff called me and said they had given him anaesthesia, and it was not looking good,” the grieving mother said.
Ishwar did not get the chance to say goodbye. The couple buried their son on Election Day (April 28) after seeking legal advice and issuing a pre-action protocol letter, noting that they had never been consulted about Ayden’s worsening condition.
They are now calling for accountability.
However, they said the response they received from the NCRHA does not reflect the truth of what happened.
The NCRHA’s legal team has denied all allegations of negligence, breach of duty, or liability for damages. In its response, the Authority detailed 20 steps it said were taken in Ayden’s care.
“The Authority will contend that at all material times in the care, management and treatment of Ayden, its servants and/or agents exercised all standard reasonable care, skill and diligence consistent with accepted medical standards and established clinical protocols,” the NCRHA said.
The response also stated that, upon receiving the final anatomical diagnoses, Ishwar was apprised.
But both parents, who said their lives have been altered, said this is not enough, and they will not stop until they get justice for Ayden.
“You take away my comfort, and no one is being held responsible. It’s a death—it’s not like you cut him and stitched wrong. A whole life has been taken away, and nobody has been held accountable in any way,” he said.
Guardian Media reached out to the Chairman of the NCRHA, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, about the parents’ dissatisfaction with the response, but he maintained that the legal team had already addressed the matter.
