Lawyers for the parents of babies who died after a bacterial outbreak at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) are asking the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) for US $55,000 to hire foreign doctors to review the babies’ medical notes.

The demand was made in a letter from attorney Sue Ann Deosaran of Freedom Law Chambers.

Deosaran confirmed receipt of medical records and notes for 11 of 18 babies who died at the NICU.

She said many of the babies’ parents come from “lower grounds” of the socio-economic ladder and after exhausting their savings in medical fees, medication and funeral expenses, now “cannot afford to retain independent doctors to review and analyse the medical notes and records provided.”

The families asked the NWRHA to agree to pay the fees for a specialist to review and analyse the medical notes and prepare a report to advise whether the treatment and standard of care fell below what was reasonable and acceptable.

Deosaran said local doctors have told them they are conflicted and unable to accept the job.

“They have all indicated that they cannot assist because they are either employed with the RHA’s or have to interact with the State in the practice of their profession.

“We have, however, reached out to international experts who have quoted us a discounted fee of US$5,000 per baby and we therefore ask that the NWRHA assume liability for paying these fees.”

Deosaran also expressed “the deep concern” of the parents over the ministry’s failure to invite them to attend a media tour of the NICU scheduled for noon on Thursday.

“It is strange to say the least, that none of our clients whose babies died at the NICU, were invited to be part of this tour so that there could be some realistic balance to this one-sided event.”

The letter posed several questions to the NWRHA, including the purpose of the tour, and why the minister “took so long to invite the media to tour the NICU.”

It said the parents were sceptical and alleged “a mad scramble” to remove broken equipment and sanitise the haematology lab before the PAHO investigators could view it.

It also asked, “Why were the parents of the dead babies not invited to ensure that this was simply not a public relations stunt that was designed to do political damage control by giving a biased view about the state and standard of care at the NICU?”

The letter noted the “mandatory dress code guidelines” for media personnel, which it claimed medical staff at the NICU did not observe.

“It is unfortunate that the medical staff that was in charge of our clients’ babies did not comply with these rules that were observed more in breach than in actual practice.

The lawyers described the investigation as a “pappyshow” and called for the NWRHA to treat the parents “with some modicum of respect.”

“It would appear that the NWRHA and the Ministry of Health (MoH) plans to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of our clients’ babies without any form of consultation