- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 12/Aug 04:13

Jasher’s heartbreaking case

JASHER Francois, six, went to hospital with a cough. One day later, he was dead. That is tragic enough. But the sense that Jasher was an otherwise healthy child renders it even more so. Like most children, he played in the yard. He attended camp. So healthy was he that, according to his mother, broccoli was his favourite vegetable. The sequence of events that unfolded at the Paediatric Ward on Level 11 of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital on the morning of August 7 is now the subject of a probe ordered by the Prime Minister. That investigation is not only welcome but necessary. It must establish the facts and reconcile the dramatic divergence of views among pathologists as to the cause of death. But it should also acknowledge the fact that no autopsy summary, clinically written on the dotted lines of a certificate, can account for wider failings. Even as the truth is being unearthed, there is evidence suggesting such failings occurred here. According to Jasher’s parents, Yhnique and Aaron Francois, they were told their child was likely experiencing a seasonal flu, common among children at this time of year. The expected course of treatment involved Tamiflu and antibiotics, as well as use of a nebuliser mask. When a nurse reportedly began to administer magnesium sulphate intravenously, it was the first time Mr Francois was learning of this course of treatment in relation to his child. It is the sudden emergence of this clinical course within the Francois’ recounting of their experience last week that raises red flags. The administration of magnesium sulphate is sometimes associated with an intensive care unit setting, not a general ward. In the former, patients might ordinarily be closely monitored. Absent direct supervision from doctors, nurses administered this treatment, triggering an adverse response. After the alarm was raised by Mr Francois about his child’s reaction, a nurse sought advice and proceeded to continue. The child vomited four times. It is unclear what dosage was administered, whether it was adjusted or if the drug should have been given at all. The 216-bed hospital on Independence Avenue, which opened in 2014, is one of the brighter spots in the public health system. But this sequence of events will focus attention on its procedures, from communications to staff training. It will also re-ignite the issue of whether there is a need for more specialist children’s care and the fate of the Couva Hospital. Likely litigation from Jasher’s family should not discourage the government from adopting full transparency. On the contrary, it is the state’s duty to illuminate the facts and to put corrective measures in place to ensure children in this country do not die of coughs. The post Jasher’s heartbreaking case appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.