Investigate allegations of corruption at the Fort Wellington Hospital

May 03, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
It’s a sad day when persons placed in the public trust ignore professional ethics and social responsibility, and make fools of themselves in the media trying to defend the indefensible. I refer to a letter written by the apologist for Carol Joseph, the Region 5 RDC CEO, Mr Ovid Morrison. In his response to a previous letter written by me, detailing the abuse of the addictive drug Pethidine by the discredited former APNU+AFC RDC Councillor, Morrison is correct when he said that “Ms. Joseph could not have accessed these drugs all by herself since they are kept under secure circumstances at the Hospital” and that “the dosages of medication Ms Joseph received were prescribed by Doctors.”
Morrison is also correct when he wrote, “I must note however that implicit in the allegations of her abuse of medication at the Fort Wellington Cottage Hospital, is the insinuation that the doctors at this Hospital were less than professional or worse aided and abetted Ms Joseph in her alleged abuse.”
But nowhere in his letter did he question why, despite repeated complaints of drug abuse by Carol Joseph, an investigation was not done by the Regional Medical Officer of Region 5, Dr. Steven Cheefoon. Neither did he explain his reasons for instructing the RHO to immediately transfer the whistle-blower, Staff Nurse/Midwife Sherilyn Marks from the Fort Wellington Hospital where she performed exemplary service for the past four years. Instead, the REO, Ovid Morrison sought to defend allegations of medical misconduct by two doctors working at the Fort Wellington Hospital under his administration, who helped to facilitate this addiction.
Morrison should have remained silent and remove all doubt of his political agenda and stupidity in defense of a fellow PNC comrade, Carol Joseph, despite the information published in the press. He should have known that a responsible press would never publish a story like this without first seeing the evidence in order to avoid a lawsuit.
Editor, one of the doctors (name withheld) that Morrison is seeking to defend has, with the exception of about six months in 2016, been writing Pethidine prescriptions for Carol Joseph since the year 2008. Evidence shows that Joseph used these prescriptions almost daily for the past nine years to access this drug, free of cost, from government supplies at the Fort Wellington Hospital to feed her addiction.
The other doctor (name also withheld), whom I was told, often wrote five (5) prescriptions at a time to allow Carol Joseph to fill in the dates as needed, is known to have written similar prescriptions during the six months period in 2016. Ironically, the second doctor stopped writing prescriptions for her abruptly when Nurse Marks brought the issue of drug abuse to the attention of the RHO, Dr. Steven Cheefoon.
Then there is allegation of medical misconduct against the RHO himself who, knowing the history of her addiction, wrote a prescription on October 25, 2016 for Carol Joseph in someone else’s name, and ordered his staff at the nurses’ station to administer the drug to her, despite their refusal to do so on the grounds that the prescription presented by Joseph was not in her name. I have evidence of the RHO’s initials on the prescription, and on the Dangerous Drug Act book, certifying that the drug was given on that very day.
Morrison should know that the RHO never signs this book, but was forced to do so because the certifying nurse refused to be part of this illegal act, and also because the administration of this drug had to be certified in the book as required by the Dangerous Drug Act. Disturbingly, I am aware that, despite the immense coverage the Carol Joseph drug abuse was given in the press, she is still accessing Pethidine from the Fort Wellington hospital with the knowledge of the RHO. And the nursing staff is being threatened of being transferred like Nurse Marks if “they talk” about it.
Is the RHO, Dr. Steven Cheefoon so oblivious to the seriousness of what he is allowing to take place at his hospital, or is it that he is doing so with the approval of an arrogant government that is determined to take care of their own.
The public disclosure of Carol Joseph’s addiction forced her resignation as a Region 5 RDC Councillor. She did not do so voluntarily. After being investigated by the police for allegations of fraud at the Mahaicony Abary Rice Development Scheme – MARDS, followed closely by the disclosure of her addiction, she was undoubtedly fast becoming an embarrassment and liability to the PNC dominated APNU. What other reason could be given for her abrupt “resignation” from that group as well? She had to go. But now, she need professional help to recover from her addiction, and should not be allowed to continue feeding it.
In an article published in the Kaieteur News, an unnamed doctor is quoted as saying, “The thing about Pethidine is that the more you give to a patient, the more they become addicted to it… You would usually find doctors giving a patient, one or sometimes two doses of Pethidine, and then stop. It should not be used for a long period of time.” I have documented evidence that shows Carol Joseph has been getting this drug since 2008. So how does the REO, Ovid Morrison explain or even try to justify the actions of the two doctors under his administration, who collectively, are responsible for writing these prescriptions for Carol Joseph all these years?
Surely the doctors must have known they were contributing to her addiction. The question is, why? But now that the REO is aware of all the allegations of drug abuse and medical misconduct taking place under his watch at the Fort Wellington Hospital in Region 5, I expect that he will act professionally and advise the Ministry of Public Health to name a special bipartisan committee to investigate these allegations of corruption.
HARRY GILL, MP (PPP)

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