The family of fireman, Voshaun Manbodh, who passed away at the Georgetown Hospital two weeks ago while nursing injuries sustained in the Mae’s School fire, is moving to the Court over his death.
The family is dissatisfied with the outcome of an investigation that was conducted into his care and treatment at the Georgetown Hospital, leading up to his death and they are still looking for answers.
After initially stating that the investigation has found systemic errors in the care and treatment of the fireman, the Georgetown Hospital later declared that there was no medical negligence or wrongdoing by its staff.
In a statement on Thursday, the family of late fireman said the Georgetown Hospital’s statement on the fireman’s death while in their care and the subsequent investigation reeks of bureaucratic detachment masked in clinical language with accountability being buried.
They are demanding to be made aware of the “systemic errors” that the hospital first mentioned in relation to the findings of the probe into the fireman’s death.
“How does GPHC reconcile the existence of systemic errors; admitted by their own Medical Director, with a conclusion of no negligence or wrongdoing? Systemic failures that contribute to death are not benign oversights; they are actionable, remediable, and, in a just society, accountable. This contradiction alone renders the entire press statement disingenuous and misleading”, the family stated.
The family has taken particular umbrage to a statement from the Georgetown hospital that the fireman’s death was not only as a result of his injuries but also to an alleged underlying chronic disease.
According to the family, there is no documented medical history of any chronic illness in Voshaun Manbodh’s records prior to his admission at the Georgetown Hospital, and they would like to know when any such diagnose was made. They believe that statement by the hospital is aimed at mitigating liability.
The family also said it is deeply troubling, and unacceptable that the Georgetown Public Hospital would publicly release conclusions of an autopsy done on the fireman in the absence of a finalized medical certificate of cause of death, or any legally binding documentation.
They said the preliminary report issued by the state pathologist and recorded on the death registration form is not a legal death certificate, and therefore it holds no conclusive legal standing and is contrary to what the family have strong reasons to believe.
They said the disclosure is more than improper and represents a clear breach of Guyana’s own medical ethics framework, namely the Code of Ethics Regulations (2008) under the Medical Practitioners Act (Cap. 32:02).
The Code of Ethics Regulations states that “every medical practitioner has an obligation to keep information about a patient confidential even after the death of the patient.”
Additionally, it notes that “in the event of a patient’s incapacity, the information may only be divulged with the consent of the spouse, parent or responsible close relative.”
The family said no such consent was given and there was no communication with the family of the fireman before the information was released.
“There was no legal obligation, no public health emergency, and no moral justification for GPHC to publish autopsy conclusions that had not yet been finalized, particularly while the family remained uninformed and excluded regarding the findings of the investigative report. This disclosure was not done in the interest of truth or transparency; it was a strategic act of deflection, meant to manipulate public perception while silencing the family’s pursuit of answers.”
According to the family, despite the hospital’s stated commitment to openness, the family has never received the Investigative Report, and family members were left to read details of the investigations and their loved one’s death in the local media. They said they were not briefed on the report, consulted on it or even informed of its findings.
The family of the late fireman said his death reflects a broken and unaccountable system, shielded by language, bureaucracy, and carefully crafted denials, and they believe that his death was preventable and could have been prevented had he been provided with the proper care for the injuries he suffered while in the line of duty for the Guyana Fire Service.
They want the Georgetown Hospital to accept full responsibility and intends to challenge the Hospital in Court and hold it responsible for the young man’s death.
The family of fireman Manbodh have voiced their concern about him not being provided with critical care from the time he was admitted to the hospital. They have reported that scans were not done for days even as he cried out for multiple internal injuries. When he fell from a bed at the hospital, which they believe compounded his injuries, they said they were not informed about that incident, and it was another patient who made the information known to them.
The fireman was admitted to the hospital with serious head and other injuries after the section of a wall and part of a roof collapsed on him while battling the blaze that gutted the Mae’s School. He passed away in the hospital days after being admitted.
The family is calling for the public’s support as they launch their legal fight. A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist with covering the legal costs The link to that page is https://gofund.me/f454778c. Additionally, the family said contributions towards their legal battle could be made via the Mobile Money Transfer number 618-6168.
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