BALONEY for SURE



We all know the expression "B.S!" And we all know what it means ... "Baloney for Sure". (What? You thought it meant something else? Well, it doesn't! Not in this blog!)

Now that we have that little explanation out of the way for the benefit of those who might not have understood, I must say that I have never heard such absolute "B.S." as came out last week from certain doctors and other persons from the Southwest Regional Health Authority ('SWRHA') who were objecting to the suspension of certain persons following the death of an apparently healthy 29 year old young woman in the San Fernando General Hospital. The essence of the objections as expressed in the newspapers is that "proper procedures" for the suspending of the entire shift on duty at the time of the operation from which the unfortunate young lady died were not followed.

Talk about a Phd ('Piled higher and deeper') in unadulterated B.S.! Let's look at the facts:
1) There was an operation in which a 'C'-section was performed on the young lady;
2) She was apparently healthy at the time;
3) She died while on the operating table.

Now, it is fairly safe to assume (though certainly not to accept) that somebody may have made a mistake which resulted in the young woman's death. Who is responsible? That is the sixty-four million dollar question! It is also fairly safe to assume also that if anybody screwed up it would be one or more of the persons on the shift, i.e., the people who were on duty and took part in the operation. So, that being the case (i.e., that there is a distinct possibility that somebody messed up badly and as a result the young woman died) then quite clearly the thing to do is to have an immediate investigation into what happened. But, you don't want to mount an investigation into any matter, much less a matter as serious as this, and leave a possible guilty party in a position where he (or she, or they) could tamper with the evidence. You would want to remove any and everybody from the scene so that you could find out exactly what happened.

That is why the behaviour of everybody from the dismissed SWRHA Chief Executive Officer on down is so inexplicable and nonsensical. Yes! The whole shift should have been suspended. And, quite frankly, the dismissed CEO should have done that immediately! A young woman is dead, for crying out loud! And you want to quibble about procedures!?!? So, if the proper procedure is that the suspension notices should have been on pink paper but were written instead on blue paper (being ridiculous to make the point) then they should not have been suspended?!? Pull the other one! It's got bells on it!

No! Some, if not all of those suspended may be quite innocent of any negligence whatsoever, but we will not know unless and until an investigation and enquiry takes place. They have been suspended with full pay and they will be given an opportunity to answer any allegations that may be made against them as well as to produce evidence to show that they were not to blame. But keep your eye on the ball: A young woman is dead! And it is more than likely that somebody (or "bodies") is to blame. The Minister of Health in this case is absolutely right!