Judge gives President report on death of Elizabeth-Fred and twins |11 March 2010

Judge Fernando, who was speaking after the presentation at State House yesterday, said there was medical negligence in the case and he strongly believes the three lives could have been saved.

Ms Elizabeth-Fred was nine months pregnant with twins and died of pulmonary oedema, with which she had been diagnosed.

The President appointed Judge Fernando on January 8 to head the commission of inquiry into the deaths. The judge said the report was supposed to be handed over by June, but he considered it a case that needed urgent and immediate attention.
 
“Rodyanne Elizabeth-Fred was 21 years old, her babies were 36 weeks old and were ready to be born, but for some reason they were not delivered and I fail to understand why,” he said.

Mr Fernando said Ms Elizabeth-Fred had been in and out of the hospital five times between December 20, 2009 and January 1, 2010, and there were also times when she was supposed to have been admitted but was not.

Ms Elizabeth-Fred had peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare disorder in which a weakened heart is diagnosed within the final month of pregnancy or within five months after delivery. He said if only the medical team had kept her in for observation instead of associating her symptoms with pre-pregnancy, the lives could have been saved.

He said on January 1, when she reported to the hospital, “had she been rushed to the operating theatre, and had a caesarean operation been performed, possibly the lives of the parent and the babies could have been saved”.

Judge Fernando has included a series of recommendations in his report, among which is keeping proper records of patients’ medical histories.

He said doctors should always refer back to previous notes on the patient’s condition.
“Had doctors referred back to the notes, they would have seen that she was having these symptoms on a continual basis,” he said.

Mr Michel said at the time he set up the inquiry: “The family of Rodyanne and the Seychellois nation have the right to know what happened in this tragic incident, and to ensure the transparency and accountability of the health services. For this reason I asked for a commission of inquiry. I will review the report and announce the actions to be taken in due course.”
 
The President will review the report and will make the findings public. He has also asked the Ministry of Health to address the recommendations it makes and to review its procedures where necessary.