|
Kurt Sansone
The parents of a child who died while at hospital in circumstances that suggest gross negligence by doctors responsible for the boy’s health have lodged a formal complaint with the EU Commission to try and seek justice denied to them in Malta.
Charles and Josephine Massa are the parents of Andrea, a boy who would be 11 years old today had he not died an untimely death in hospital four years ago. Andrea died in hospital on 28 February 2001 at the age of seven after being operated on for appendicitis and later developing an infection left unchecked by doctors responsible for his care.
Despite conclusions reached by two different magistrates that there was enough evidence to indict the paediatric consultant under whose care Andrea was, criminal proceedings against the well-known doctor were eventually stopped when the Attorney General at his own discretion declared the proceedings nolle prosequi. The AG’s decision to withdraw proceedings could not be contested or appealed.
In a detailed dossier outlining every step of the case, the Massa family have asked the EU Commission to investigate whether the absolute discretion afforded to the Attorney General is in line with the principles of justice as sanctioned by the rule of law.
The Massa family state in their submission that the decision by the AG to apply nolle prosequi, which has only been applied in six other cases since 1994, was “exercised in an arbitrary manner” with no regard to the conclusions reached by two magistrates who investigated the case.
Evidence collated by the two magistrates, first in the compilation of evidence and then during the commencement of criminal proceedings, had clearly established that contrary to normal post-operative procedure, Andrea was never administered antibiotics.
The paediatric consultant himself admitted that he had never seen the child’s medical chart and relied solely on information relayed to him by his subordinates. To make matters worse the sickness certificate that was supposed to show how the paediatric consultant was on sick leave when the boy’s condition deteriorated, was seriously questioned by one of the magistrates since it contained a scribbled number that was not legible.
The actual days when the paediatric consultant was on supposed sick leave were also put into doubt by the hospital’s administrative authorities giving evidence in front of the magistrate. It seems that the consultant only informed the hospital of his sick leave on Monday, two days after actually going out on sick.
Evidence also shows that for three whole days nobody seems to have been responsible for the boy’s medical condition. The replacement consultant who took over from the paediatric consultant only got to know of Andrea’s precarious condition at midnight on Monday, three days after the paediatric consultant was out on sick.
But despite mounting evidence that showed how the paediatric consultant lacked diligence and supervision in the care of the child, the Attorney General still decided to throw the case out of the window.
The EU Commission will now study the case and reach its own conclusions. If it does finds the appeal made by the Massa family justified, the Commission can order Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
|
