Shannen will get $1M...if Life Fund approves

On Friday, Ramdeen said, “I wrote the minister and gave him until Monday at 4 pm to process the application and give a positive response to these parents because they have not sat and done nothing.

They have done everything, they have mortgaged their house, taken a personal loan, they have gone to everyone they can go to in order to save their child’s life.” If this does not happen, Ramdeen threatened to take the ministry to court.

Speaking to members of the media at the Rotary and Rotaract Clubs of St Augustine West Health Fair at the Sforzata Pan Yard yesterday, Deyalsingh made three points as to Ramdeens’s claim.

He first noted that the Children’s Life Fund Act states there is a limit of $1 million per child. He distributed a copy of an excerpt from the November 12, 2010 Hansard where the People’s National Movement (PNM), namely Paula Gopee-Scoon, asked the People’s Partnership (PP) government at the time to amend Clause 21 (4) so that more than $1 million could be granted in “exceptional circumstances” if recommended by the Children’s Life Fund board.

Health Minister at the time, Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, explained that the $1 million limitation was put into effect to ensure there was no abuse of funds, and because Permanent Secretaries could not approve more than that amount.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar then said that grants over $1 million would have to go to the Cabinet and be “tendered out” so her Government would not increase the amount.

Deyalsingh went on to say that the fund’s application was accessed by the Life Unit. “The Act clearly states that the Children’s Life Fund is only to be used for life-threatening illnesses...

That is not for Mr Ramdeen to determine.

It is for a clinical panel to determine,” he said.

He added that, under the PP, over 20 applications were refused, mostly because the illnesses were not considered to be life-threatening.

Finally, he said the fund was “to provide support up to $1 million based on medical reports and estimates received.” Therefore, applicants had to provide supporting documents to determine if they meet the criteria.

He stressed that the fund was not set up to reimburse persons for medical expenses they had voluntarily incurred. “To do that it means that anybody goes for treatment, supplies a bill to the government and you have to pay.” “In the midst of all of this, the UNC is playing with the emotions if a family and a threeyear- old girl and I don’t intend to do that. The Life Fund would do its work.” Deyalsingh said while he and PM Dr Keith Rowley empathise and sympathise with Luke’s parents, the ministry could only act within the confines of the law.

He added that if persons begin to threaten litigation, fewer people would be willing to serve on the Life Unit or the Children’s Life Fund board for fear of being sued. The sick children would be the ones harmed by the move.