Andrews contacted health ministry during Fearon saga - Mom says remarks of medics in background on phone call sickens her
Published:Monday | May 18, 2020 | 12:05 AMLivern Barrett - Senior Staff Reporter
THERE’S A surprising revelation as investigations continue into the controversial death of Jodian Fearon.
The Sunday Gleaner has now learnt that nearly 24 hours before the first-time mother died of apparent heart failure, a senior official at Andrews Memorial Hospital had reached out to a senior official in the Ministry of Health & Wellness for help in resolving issues related to her transfer to a public healthcare facility.
Permanent secretary in the ministry, Dunstan Bryan, yesterday confirmed that “amid the crisis they were in”, the management of Andrews Memorial had telephoned him around 11:30 p.m. on April 23 to see if he “could facilitate their engagement with Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH)”.
He acknowledged that the late-night call was “related to the transfer of the patient because of the issues” Andrews Memorial was faced with, but declined to go into details of the talks, citing the ongoing criminal and administrative probes into the matter.
“Because of the challenges that were being faced by the hospital (Andrews) and their inability to manage the patient and their request for the support of the Government to transfer the patient to a public facility,” Bryan said, in explaining why the hospital had reached out to him.
However, the permanent secretary insisted that his intervention was limited to VJH, and advice to a senior medical officer (SMO) there to follow the protocols for the transfer of patients.
“He (the SMO) said he would have dealt with the matter and you know now, from the outcome in the public domain, the hospital (VJH) did not have the ability to receive the patient. As per protocol, contact was made with Spanish Town Hospital,” Bryan disclosed, while making it clear that he played no role in Jodian’s transfer to Spanish Town Hospital.
No authority
At the same time, the health official denied reports that he was asked to facilitate Jodian’s transfer to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), amid claims the hospital had refused to accept her.
“I have no authority to give instructions to them (UHWI and VJH) administratively. Further, I have no authority to give clinical instruction. I can only provide facilitation,” the permanent secretary explained.
“So, when I was contacted by Andrews Memorial, it was to facilitate the transfer of the patient to the Victoria Jubilee Hospital. I specifically told the management at Andrews that I would speak to the [VJH] hospital management and, based on that, the hospital management would work with their clinical team to see what would happen,” Bryan insisted.
Pressed on the issue, Bryan said he did not know why his interaction with Andrews Memorial would need to be made public.
“I am an administrator, this is a clinical matter, but if it needs to be made public, go right ahead,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
When contacted, Caroline Hay, attorney for Andrews Memorial, declined to discuss the issues raised in the telephone conversation between her client and the permanent secretary because of the ongoing investigations, but said the management of the hospital was willing to speak publicly on the incident “and has something very important to say”.
She also gave the assurance that Andrews Memorial is “co-operating with anybody who has the authority to ask questions and we want to see the natural outcome of reasonable and prudent investigations”.
“They are following my advice. I am accepting responsibility for why they are not speaking because I am telling them that they are in the middle of investigations from every corner,” Hay told The Sunday Gleaner.
Mom: What I heard sickens me to my stomach
Jodian was admitted to the privately-operated Andrews Memorial on April 23 for delivery. According to reports, a decision was taken for her to be transported to a public hospital after it was perceived that she was displaying symptoms of the dreaded coronavirus.
She reportedly died on the floor in an intensive care unit at UHWI shortly after 10 p.m. on April 24.
This was nearly six hours after she gave birth to daughter Payton-Grace. The 23-year-old was admitted to the private-operated Andrews Memorial for delivery.
Jodian’s heartbroken mother Portia Green-Haughton appeared surprised by the latest information. “I have never heard that before,” she told The Sunday Gleaner during an interview on Friday.
Green-Haughton disclosed that she was on the phone with her other daughter, Shanice, who was with Jodian at Andrews Memorial on April 23. She said she overheard “some of the stuff that was being said in the background by medical personnel who were denying my daughter of care”.
Green-Haughton declined to divulge what she overheard, but was adamant there was discrimination because of her daughter’s perceived COVID-19 status.
“It sickens me to my stomach. It’s terrible and I must tell you that these are some of the things that resonate with me.”
Panic attack
According to her account, Jodian was placed in isolation “and that drove her into a panic attack that had her hyper-ventilating”.
“It was the treatment, the behaviour of the medical personnel that scared her because by now she didn’t know what was going to happen to her. I was on the other end of the phone screaming for somebody to listen,” she said.
Green-Haughton said she and her late daughter were best friends and recounted how they would chat on the phone several times every day. “It was her first pregnancy and she would talk to me about every little feeling.”
The mother of two also recalled a conversation she had with Jodian a week before she died.
“She [Jodian] said ‘mommy you know me think she [Payton-Grace] is going to be a doctor’,” Green-Haughton said.
She believes a lasting tribute to Jodian would be a new legislation that protects other women from meeting a similar fate as her daughter.
“I am on a quest for justice and with justice comes the truth. What I would love to see that there is a law in place that would protect women, young women like Jodian,” Green-Haughton said.