As the Joint Regional Health Authority negotiating team awaits a reply from doctors’ representative — the Medical Professionals Association — on its proposal for House Officers (junior doctors), patient care at major health facilities continued to be compromised yesterday as senior and junior doctors stayed away.

The RHAs sent MPATT the letter on Wednesday. Clinics and surgeries at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and Port-of-Spain General Hospital have been cancelled as these facilities operate in emergency mode only. Chief Executive Officer of the North West Regional Health Authority, Lennard Jaggessar said facilities are “struggling” to provide service to emergency cases. Several patients (adult and paediatric) had to be transferred to private facilities. At the San Fernando General Hospital the Accident & Emergency department was most affected. Scores of people seeking medical attention, many of whom hospital authorities said were in serious condition, were turned away.

On Wednesday only two on the prescribed shift of six medical officers turned up for duty at the A&E department. The South-West Regional Health Authority disclosed that patients on several wards, including surgical, were not attended to by doctors when one consultant, two registrars and several House Officers reported sick. SWRHA’s Communications director, Zenobia Nanan, said the hospital’s administration noted with grave concern the fact that a few interns also called in sick. The entire surgical ward, acting medical director Dr Anand Chatoorgoon said, was almost non-functional.

There was also no admittance of patients to that ward as well as to wards two and seven, he said. Chatoorgoon said that the hospital was forced to transfer five patients yesterday to private nursing homes. One such patient was a 12-year-old boy nursing a lesion in his foot. “He waited on the ward to be attended to by a doctor but the consultant said he did not have the staff,” Chatoorgoon said. The doctors have vowed to step up their action this week. The doctors intensified their action yesterday even though their latest proposals are before the joint negotiating team of the Regional Health Authorities for consideration. The last meeting between the parties was held on Monday.

Meanwhile, Newsday understands that despite the worsening situation at the nation’s hospitals, chairman of the Joint RHA team, Imitiaz Ahamad and SWRHA CEO Vade Mohammed are preparing to proceed on vacation leave.

THE Opposition United National Congress (UNC) will hold its constituency executive elections of the party between May 5 and 14.

Persons wishing to contest positions to function in all 36 constituencies at the executive level, have until May 4 to submit their nomination papers to the party’s secretariat, Rienzi Complex, Couva.

Only financial members of the UNC, the party’s Communication’s Unit said yesterday, will be allowed to contest. The party is also gearing up for Local Government elections and according to UNC’s public relations officer Harry Partap, a total of 212 candidates have been screened to contest postitons in the Regional, Borough and City Corporations. Partap said that 50 more prospective candidates are carded for screening. Prime Minister Patrick Manning is yet to announce the date for Local Government elections.

JUSTICE Peter Jamadar yesterday ordered that six prisoners be immediately released after he found that they were illegally serving extra time in prison.

One of the prisoners, David Pysadee, of Preysal, had been jailed for four extra years. The orders were made on six Habeas Corpus motions in the First Civil Court, San Fernando, filed and argued by attorneys Prakash Ramadhar and Brian Debideen.

The attorneys successfully argued that magistrates ordered the six prisoners to serve separate jail terms to run consecutively. But the various aggregate jail terms in the case of each of the six prisoners totalled more than the maximum jail sentence which the law imposed. Pysadee was convicted on four counts of robbery and sentenced to two years imprisonment on each count — a total of eight years imprisonment. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. But consecutive sentences, the attorneys argued, cannot exceed three years. They cited a ruling  on the issue by former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide, who referred to Section 77 of the Summary Courts Ordinance.

It states: “Where two or more sentences are passed by a magistrate by a summary court and are ordered to run consecutively, the aggregate term of imprisonment shall not exceed three years.” Pysadee, therefore, should have served only two years and should have been released from jail in July 1998.

Justice Jamadar, in granting an order of habeas corpus for the immediate release of Pysadee ruled that the magistrate had no power to order consecutive sentences where the aggregate term of imprisonment exceeded three years.  The other prisoner who was found to have suffered a similar fate was Marlon Charles of La Horquetta. He was sentenced to six jail terms of two years each for house-breaking. The sentences were to run consecutively — 12 years total.  According to Justice Jamadar’s order, the consecutive sentences imposed on Charles cannot exceed three years. He too was ordered released. On similar grounds, Justice Jamadar ordered the release of four other men — Maurice Haynes of Morvant; Steve Yorke of Chaguanas; Edwin Augustine of Port-of- Spain and Garvin Taylor of Laventille. Their extra time in prison ranged from three months to one year.

A PASTOR will appear before a Sangre Grande Magistrate today charged with buggering a 14-year-old schoolboy at his (the pastor’s) home on Wednesday morning.

According to police reports, around 8.30 am the teenager who lives in Sangre Grande went to the  Sangre Grande home of the pastor to drop off a jewelry box. The pastor later invited the unsuspecting teen into his home, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into a bedroom. The pastor forced the teen to strip and then buggered him repeatedly. After the assault, the pastor warned the teen not to tell anyone and allowed him to leave.

When the victim returned home at 11.30 am, his grandmother questioned him as to why he took so long just to drop off a jewelry box at the pastor’s home. The crying youth later confessed to his grandmother who contacted the police. Sangre Grande officers led by Cpl Neville Sankar and including PC Vaughn Waldropt and PC Valentine visited the pastor’s home and arrested him.The teen was later taken to a medical facility where the District Medical Officer (DMO) medically examined him and confirmed to investigators that he had been sexually assaulted.

THE UNITED National Congress yesterday reiterated its position that the Anti-Kidnapping Bill currently before Parliament, cannot take precedence over constitutional reform and the restructuring of Caroni (1975) Limited.

Magistrates already have the power to refuse bail to persons charged with kidnapping, the UNC said yesterday. But constitutional reform would address problems of racism and inequity in the distribution of the State’s resources. Such reform, the party added, would bring about cohesion among the various ethnic groups in the country. It is the UNC’s view that a considerable part of the population is being alienated and are made to feel they are second-class citizens.

The UNC said it was not prepared to accept any piece-meal and petty attempt to propose constitutional reform by way of simply amending legislation. “This is not what we are all about. We therefore call again for the Manning Administration to engage in full, sweeping, broad-based and comprehensive constitutional reform to resolve our social and political problems.” The statement accused the present administration of attempting to shift blame for the escalating kidnapping incidents on the UNC’s refusal to support the Bill.  “Our position is firm. The PNM is retrenching 10,000 sugar workers and many more workers are being targetted,” the statement said.

PARLIAMENTARY Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Anthony Roberts, said for the past two years the Northern Division has recorded the highest number of serious crimes in Trinidad and Tobago. Statistics show there were 3,367 serious crimes in 2001 and 3,440 for 2002.

Roberts revealed this when he addressed a pilot project, “Save Our Community”, organised by the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation at the Five Rivers Junior Secondary School last weekend. Roberts said disintegration of the family was chiefly responsible for the rapid increase in crime. “A truly solid family foundation can withstand the rigors of negative temptation. Fathers must understand that they have a significant role to play in nurturing their offsprings. “The role of the family is also of paramount importance in the process of positively reorganising our treasured youths.”

Roberts noted that 50 percent of all crimes are drug-related and said it was absolutely necessary to make it extremely difficult to access illegal substances. Chairman of the Corporation, Patricia Mejias committed herself to drugs and crime control. “We will continue to stand by you and the people in the region, in the support of our common goals,” she said, adding that the war against drugs, crime, corruption and kidnapping required close cooperation among all members of the community.

THE OPPOSITION United National Congress (UNC) yesterday filed a motion of no confidence in Senate President, Dr Linda Baboolal.

The motion filed by Opposition Senator Robin Montano is the first ever motion of no confidence against a Senate president. In response to Baboolal’s reading of the “riot act” on Tuesday, the UNC yesterday said the ruling “has brought the Senate into disrepute”. The Opposi-tion also accused Baboolal of being partisan. However the Senate President responded that her comments were directed at all senators and therefore cannot be construed as partisan.

Cabinet yesterday approved a plan for Caricom-backed plan for financial assistance to Haiti.

Cabinet also approved the completion of the negotiations of a Free Trade Area between Caricom and Costa Rica. And Government also announced liberalisation measures for the local manufacturing sector. Trade Minister Ken Valley, speaking at a post-Cabinet news briefing, explained that currently there were duty-free concessions on all imported raw materials  which were not available on the Caricom market. If a manufacturer wanted to import a raw material which was available in Caricom, he had to get the written permission of the particular Caricom supplier.

However, Valley said, Government agreed to remove this procedure and replace it with a new system. A tribunal managed by the Ministry, would be established comprising the Deputy Trade Officer, Comptroller of Customs, a representative of TIDCO, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, a representative from the Chamber, one from the TTMA. The Tribunal would consider, advise and recommend to the Minister in instances where a manufacturer wanted to source a raw material from an external source, but which was available in the region. On the FTA with Costa Rica, Valley said it would come into force on January, 2004. Over 6,000 products would be traded between Caricom and Costa Rica on a duty-free basis. He said a special regime had been established for agricultural products. There was also a unique feature — a differential treatment clause- which would allow trade with some Caricom countries, but not with others in certain products.

Valley stated that there was also non-reciprocity for the OECS countries. They would be allowed to export their products into Costa Rica on a duty-free basis, but products from Costa Rica would be subjected to duties on their (OECS) market. Foreign Affairs Minister Knowslon Gift said Cabinet approved the financial assistance to Haiti, the poorest country in the hemisphere. He said the plan involved each Caricom country putting $500,000 into a fund meant to trigger funding from the Inter-american Development Bank, World Bank and other international agencies. He said once each country met its quota, the international institutions would resume their borrowing programme to the country.

INDUSTRIAL action by doctors is being blamed for the death of a newborn baby at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Samdaye Harrilal, 35, of Penal, yesterday filed a lawsuit against the South West Regional Health Authority, which operates the SFGH, claiming that the hospital’s administration failed to ensure there was a ward staffed with doctors, one of whom could have attended to her when she was rushed to hospital to deliver her baby. Harrilal claimed in an affidavit that her baby went into distress and when nurses recommended she be placed on drips, there were no doctors present to administer it.  As a result Harrilal’s baby, who was born at seven pounds and five ounces, died.

Harrilal is contending that the hospital acted negligently and ought to have provided doctors on the ward. When the hospital could not provide doctors, Harrilal said, it acted negligently by refusing to transfer her to a private nursing home. The writ was filed by attorney Krishnedath Neebar, instructing attorney Anand Ramlogan. Between March 21 and April 22, 2002, doctors employed with the Ministry of Health, were locked in dispute over terms and conditions of service. On April 22, the very day Harrilal was rushed to the hospital, a release from the SWRHA stated that the hospital was only admitting emergency cases because there was a ten percent shortage of doctors at the San Fernando and Port-of-Spain General Hospitals.

Outlining her ordeal during which nurses performed the role of doctor by giving her an injection of antibiotics, Harrilal said she was nine months pregnant when her amniotic sac ruptured. She said when she was admitted to ward 15, she was made to wait on a bench for one and a half hours. A nurse then recorded with a monitor a “very healthy” heart beat of her baby, she claimed. Harrilal was then escorted to ward 13 where she was told by a nurse that she had to be given an antibiotic injection because her medical records showed she was suffering from a heart condition. But nurses told her only a doctor could administer such an injection. “Around 6:30 pm I began to feel pain and requested that a doctor attend to me,” she stated. However, nurses repeatedly told her that there was no doctor on the ward. “Throughout the night I heard them make several telephone calls to doctors but to no avail,” Harrilal said. 

Eventually, the woman stated, a nurse gave her an antibiotic injection. Harrilal stated that her pains intensified and even by then, 1.01 am, she had not seen a doctor. The woman said she was again hooked up a to a monitor while two nurses and a midwife attended to her. She stated in her affidavit that she heard one of them say: “The baby is in distress.” Harrilal said nurses then hurriedly wheeled her into the labour ward and again hooked her up to a monitor. But on that occasion, Harrilal’s writ stated, the nurses did not detect any heart beat from her baby. Harrilal said nurses placed tubes into her nostrils and administered oxygen. A nurse told her that she required drips but unfortunately there was still no doctor on the ward at the time.

Harrilal said around 1:06 am she gave birth to her baby which nurses placed in an incubator. She stated that a short while after a doctor arrived and she saw him use a suction pump to take out green liquid from the baby’s mouth. The woman said she saw the doctor turning the baby from side to side. The doctor then told her that the baby had died. Harrilal’s attorneys are contending that the hospital failed to staff the hospital with doctors. Alleging negligence, the woman stated that the hospital ought to have transferred her to a private nursing home when it discovered the hospital had no doctors to attend to her. Harrilal is seeking monetary compensation for loss of her baby.