How did these women die?

[JimO]

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,112375.html

How did these women die?
By Invera Arjoon Friday, December 11 2009

The families of at least two patients who died at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) are demanding answers about the cause of death of their loved ones.

Yesterday, the husband of Suzette Hosein, a 30-year-old woman from Robertson Road, Princes Town, who died at the hospital on Tuesday, said he feels he is not being told the truth about his wife?s death.

According, to Fazeed Hosein, 31, his wife was healthy until she started to display flu-like symptoms on November 28.

After a visit to the Princes Town Health Facility on the same day she was administered two injections and given prescriptions to purchase tablets.

This, Hosein said, offered no relief to her fever, cough and cold so on December 2 she was taken to the SFGH where she spent one night at the medical extension ward before being transferred to the ICU. ?She was hooked up to a ventilator and despite my numerous questions to the doctors as to whether it was swine flu, I was told she had a lung infection.?

Hosein said he was told samples of swabs taken from his wife were sent to the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and the results would be received in three weeks. Acting SFGH medical director Dr Anand Chatergoon certified that the cause of death for Suzette Hosein was broncho pneumonia. But Hosein said he is not satisfied with the response since there were two other women warded at the ICU along with his wife and all were suffering similar symptoms. These women also died and their families have been told the cause of death was broncho pneumonia. They, however, believe the women died from Influenza A/H1N1, or swine flu.

One of these women was Lakshmi Pundit, the niece of UNC Princes Town MP Subash Panday, who was cremated on Wednesday, the same day as Suzette Hosein. Pundit, 30, lived at Sisters Road, Princes Town, which leads to Robertson Road.

A third person from the Sisters Road community is currently warded at the ICU at SFGH after displaying flu-like symptoms.

Panday yesterday said he and his family failed to get answers from the doctors at SFGH on what caused Pundit?s death last Friday.

?We could get nothing out of them, my niece was healthy and they said she died from pneumonia.?

He said his information is that at least 14 people have died within the last 31 days at the ICU. ?We are being told that almost no one who is warded at the ICU at SFGH is coming out alive.?

Panday said he plans to raise the issue in Parliament today and demand that an investigation be launched at SFGH to find out exactly how many people have died at the ICU from similar symptoms and wants CAREC to provide information on the results of swine flu tests.

?People are dying on a daily basis and being buried but why are there no results from CAREC? You cannot keep the families in the dark wondering what killed their loved ones,? Panday said.

He believes the Government is ?down playing the swine flu pandemic in this country and the truth needs to be revealed.?

Panday demanded to know why the government is not allowing the Influenza A/H1N1 vaccine to be administered to those in need. In addition to calling for an investigation to be launched into the deaths, he said he is also calling on the Health Ministry to vaccinate all the residents of Princes Town.

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: How did these women die?

Probe these pneumonia deaths
By INVERA ARJOON Saturday, December 12 2009

TWO DOCTORS are questioning the circumstances surrounding several deaths at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) recently. One of them alleged that the number of deaths within recent months range from between 28 to 35. He also charged that doctors were being cautioned against stating ?swine flu? as the cause of death of any patient at the SFGH.

On Thursday, relatives of two young women, Lakshmi Pundit and Suzette Hosein, who died at the ICU recently told Newsday they felt they were being left in the dark as they try to find out exactly what killed their loved ones.

Pundit lived on Sisters Road which leads to Robertson Road, where Hosein lived. The cause of death, for both women, was listed in the death certificates as broncho pneumonia. But medical sources say the Ministry of Health needs to address why young healthy people are suddenly dying from broncho pneumonia.

?Why during previous years, so many young healthy people did not suddenly show flu like symptoms and die from broncho pneumonia?? a medical source asked. The source explained that the final stage of the Influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu) is broncho pneumonia.

?When they state broncho pneumonia on the death certificate, this is being very general. What they need to say is what brought on the broncho pneumonia. What was the causative factor, because pneumonia could be brought on by any one of the Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP).

During all my years in the medical profession, I have been used to older people and those who are immunocompromised (suffering from diseases which affect the immune system) being the ones to die from broncho pneumonia,? the medical source said, adding that an investigation needs to be launched to find out the reason behind the high number of deaths from broncho pneumonia at the SFGH.

?Confirmation of swine flu can only come from the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) which sends the results to the Trinidad Public Health Department from where it is then sent to the Ministry of Health,? the source said.

But the source added that the SFGH has not been receiving results of samples sent to CAREC.

Efforts by Newsday yesterday to contact CAREC director Jose Campioni proved futile.

Asked whether or not there was any connection environmentally since there were several deaths in specific areas, the source said the virus is air-borne and that social interaction is largely responsible for its spread.

Another top medical source said that developed countries such as the United States and Britain made no attempt to cover up or deny that they are dealing with a swine flu pandemic. ?So why are we not owning up to what is happening locally. This is serious! People are dying every day and yet doctors at the SFGH are complaining that they have been warned about speaking out on the issue,? the source said.

The concerned doctor added ?In fact the doctors have come under heavy pressure recently not only on the swine flu issue but that there were many changes being implemented at the SFGH. The doctors are saying new directives have been handed down by management of the hospital, which recently changed, and they were not a part of the negotiations.

?They have concerns about the roster system and number of ward rounds and many other issues.?

When contacted for comment President of the Medical Professionals Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT) Dr Collin Furlonge said, ?we are making preliminary enquiries into a number of complaints that have been made to us and we will be directing our attention to investigating these matters which has arisen in the recent past.?

Efforts to contact Medical director of the San Fernando General Hospital, Dr Anand Chattergoon proved futile, however sources at the Ministry of Health said that next week the ministry will be ?dealing with the issues at the San Fernando General Hospital on swine flu deaths.?

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