Gov’t official knew of Councillor’s drug addiction

Apr 22, 2017 News

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It would appear as though Carol Joseph’s addiction to the pain killer, Pethidine, is not news to some of her comrades in the People’s National Congress (PNC).

At least one Gvernment official knew for “a very long time”, that Joseph had a problem but did nothing.
“We had to forget protocol. We couldn’t rush it and just stop her. As her friend, I consulted with another (APNU-AFC) party member, and we agreed to help her gradually. We didn’t want her to have a withdrawal syndrome, which can lead to suicide and so on,” the official said.
In addition to fuelling the woman’s addiction at the cost of taxpayers, the official also admitted to being aware of the fact that Joseph was being administered the narcotic medication for an illness that does not warrant the use of the highly addictive drug.
“Even if we recognised that they were wrong, we could not have rushed it. But yes, it is not common for one to prescribe pethidine for somebody who has (name of illness provided).”
This newspaper was informed that pethidine is usually prescribed by psychiatrists to patients with neurological conditions. But, according to the documents that Kaieteur News has, this is not what the recently resigned councillor was being treated for.
Although a neurological condition was not what appeared on records, Joseph’s colleague seems to think that she might have been in need of such treatment.
The official went as far as to highlight that persons interacting with the APNU-AFC Councillor, would realise that she is a “different type of person” who requires “extra attention.”
“She is very forceful,” the official added.
According to documents seen by this newspaper, Carol Joseph was being fed pethidine almost every single day since October, at the Fort Wellington Hospital in Berbice.
While the maximum dosage for pethidine is 100mg, records show that Joseph was sometimes injected with 200mg within a 24-hour period – 100mg in the morning and another such dose in the evening.
For instance, on December 6, 2016, Joseph received a 100mg injection of pethidine around 11:20hrs, and returned later the same day at 22:10hrs for a similar dose.

This happened again on December 27, when Joseph received a 100mg dose of pethidine at 13:30hrs and was administered another such injection again at around 19:05hrs.
The very scenario played out again on January 18, 2017, when the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member received a dose of the narcotic drug at 11:10hrs and then again at 21:50hrs.
On Mashramani Day, Joseph also showed up for two fixes. One was administered around 00:40hrs and another at exactly 21:30hrs.
Asked about the double doses, one medical practitioner who wished not to be named, said, “I find it genuinely unlikely that they would give somebody two doses of pethidine in one day.”
Carol Joseph resigned from her post as a Councillor on the Region Five Democratic Council on Wednesday, following the revelations made by whistleblower nurse, Sherilyn Marks. Kaieteur News understands that Joseph received instructions to quit, from Government.
The midwife, who had been tasked with administering pethidine injections to the drug-dependent Joseph, lodged a complaint with health authorities, both at the level of Central Government, and the regional department.
The woman was being fed excessive doses of pethidine everyday, even amid a drug shortage that was being experienced in the region.
After no action was taken, Marks followed up with another correspondence in December 2016. Her persistence to have the issue addressed was based on the fear of being held liable for not administering the doses as prescribed by the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance (Control) Act of Guyana.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud had said that prescribing doses of medication that are beyond what is required is not only unethical, but it can also result in severe sanctions for medical malpractice.
Nurse Marks complained that Joseph was using her position as Council to ensure access to large amounts of the narcotic medication.
Having exhausted all other avenues, Marks decided to highlight her plight via a letter to the press.
After the piece she penned was published, the young woman received a letter from the Regional Health Office, saying that she was being transferred from Fort Wellington Hospital to the Bath/Experiment Health Centre, effective yesterday, April 20, 2017.
The letter sought to inform Marks that her transfer was done “in an effort to establish good vaccination coverage within this catchment area.”
However, many linked the transfer to a form of victimization against the nurse, who, in this case, acted as a whistleblower.
It was the APNU-AFC Coalition Government that had offered its full support the Protected Disclosure / Whistle Blower Legislation, intended to protect individuals who disclose acts of corruption or other wrong doings occurring in the country. But despite all the initial enthusiasm, the document has still not been presented to the National Assembly.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams told this newspaper yesterday, that the Bill is with Cabinet, and is likely to be presented soon to Parliament. (Rehana Ahamad)

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