| While he is fully aware that there is literally no monetary compensation that can make up for the loss of a child, Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, is hopeful that the Jaden Mars case could be resolved so that his mother can find closure.Mars,Cheap Barcelona Jersey, who was four years old at the time, was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on December 4, 2013 to have his damaged tongue sutured. He died a few days later (December 10, 2013).A post mortem (PM) examination revealed that the child died from Pulmonary Embolism, which is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream.It is believed that negligence on the part of health workers, who attended to him, led to his untimely death.His mother, Nathalie Caseley, has ever since been seeking to get justice for her son, a move that has even seen her opting to take legal action against the hospital and the Ministry of Health.She had also spearheaded several picketing exercises outside the hospital and the Ministry of Health as part of her call for justice for her son.Mars’ case is one that warranted investigations by both the Medical and Nursing Councils. There are reports that while, at least two of the attending medical personnel were sent on administrative leave, they have all resumed normal duty.Caseley has however remained unrelenting in her fight. The woman last week insisted that she is prepared to continue to fight until justice is served. This is despite her belief that the matter seems to be at a standstill almost close to two years later.But according to the Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, in an invited comment yesterday, he has always been supportive of the understandably distraught mother and is still supportive of her strong will to ensure that justice is realized. He however asserted that although the hospital in which Caseley’s son died falls under his direct purview, the matter, being in the legal domain, is completely out of his hands.Moreover, he noted that it was the sole responsibility of the legal system to decide the way forward in terms of compensating Caseley for her loss.“As far as I know it was being handled by the legal system. She was able to retain a lawyer and the Georgetown Public Hospital had a lawyer…if you are settling this case or any settlement for that matter it has got conditions,” said the Minister.He said that Caseley might not have been fully aware of the mandatory conditions. “What she might not have known, or accepted, is that she cannot continue to go protesting (once compensated). If we settle then we hope that that is the end of it…We can’t change that her son has died but in acknowledging fault the hospital through legal advice was prepared to compensate,” said the Minister of the case.“Decisions were arrived at and she (Caseley) was offered compensation,” asserted Dr Norton.Although Caseley acknowledged that compensation was offered to her, she expressed concern about the conditional terms.Minister Norton is however optimistic that Caseley will be able to find closure even as efforts are made in the public health sector to improve all levels of care being offered. |
