A Coroner on Friday questioned whether there should be recommendations for how private hospitals in Barbados operate, as he ruled there had been gross negligence by two doctors in whose care Warren Mottley, Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s younger brother, was before his death last year.
Bringing to a close an inquest that began six months ago, Magistrate Graveney Bannister took a dim view of the care met out to the 55-year-old Mottley by surgeon Dr Sahle Griffith and anesthesiologist Dr Nigel Farnum.
“Looking at the evidence and looking at the parties involved in the care of Warren Mottley, I find the conduct of Dr Griffith and Dr Farnum was so bad in all the circumstances to amount to a criminal act and omission and that it was grossly negligent and concerned in the cause of his death,” the Coroner said.
“There was a breach of duty which gave rise to an obvious and serious risk of death. The conduct was egregious. It was an egregious failure to exhibit the minimum standard of care to Warren Mottley or there was a gross dereliction of care . . . . ,” he added.
Mottley died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) on June 29, 2021, a week after a routine colonoscopy at Surgical Solutions Inc (SSI) where Dr Griffith is a surgeon.
“Having reviewed all the evidence before this inquest, in my view, there was a failure to diagnose or misdiagnose, a failure to treat the infection or shock,” said Bannister.
“Warren Mottley went to SSI for a routine colonoscopy, a routine procedure, and he did not come out. That should not have happened if due care had been used in my view. Explain that if you can.”
The Coroner said the evidence given during the inquest “begs the question whether or not there should be [a] recommendation with regards to how private hospitals should be operated” and whether there is a need for the Health Services Act to be amended.
“We must ask ourselves [about] our clinical standards here and what they should be and how can they be improved,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am not crying down the medical standards here by any stretch of the imagination . . . . People leave all over the place to come to Barbados but the question is when you weigh it against other systems, are we up to scratch in terms of our standards, when we look at private hospitals?” the magistrate questioned.
Tears flowed freely down the faces of members of the Mottley family as Magistrate Bannister handed down his ruling. The deceased’s mother Santa Amor Lady Mottley, his sister Elan and other members of the Mottley family became emotional in the gallery while his brother Stewart who was seated at the Bar bowed his head.
Reflecting on the evidence that came out of the trial, the magistrate said that he was “puzzled” about the whereabouts of Dr Griffith and Dr Farnum when their junior, Dr Courtney Chase, called them.
“Where was Dr Farnum, where was Dr Griffith during the times when the junior doctor was calling? They were [the] senior practitioners. Don’t get me wrong . . . telemedicine can be important, but there are times that you need to be present physically. Where were they? . . . They left their junior doctor, as they say in Barbadian parlance, and ‘gone long ‘bout their business’ never to return but in the morning. In my view, they treated this case as a routine case. They were not physically present.
“Dr Chase, [was] the only person who is there during the night. Dr Chase gave evidence [ and it] has a ring of truth. She said she called Dr Griffith, the consultant and he had given her certain instructions and she carried them out. So, in my view, she cannot be liable.”
The Coroner also took Dr Griffith to task for his “inappropriate” and “insensitive” verbal exchange with the deceased’s mother who went to SSI after receiving a call from her daughter-in-law that her son was “not doing well”.
In her evidence during the inquest, Lady Mottley said she went back to the clinic on June 28, 2021 where she was informed that her son had a clot. She asked the doctors to move him to the QEH and queried why they did not get an ambulance to take him to the hospital. She testified that Dr Griffith responded by telling her that he could not get an ambulance and “get Mia to get one”.
Bannister stated: “This evidence I regard as telling evidence of what transpired . . . . The verbal exchange coming from Dr Griffith was insensitive on his part as a medical practitioner, in my view. I believe that he said those words, I believe the witness Lady Mottley . . . . If it is about the care of an individual then you are expected to respond in an appropriate way as a medical practitioner.”
He further pointed out that Dr Griffith had stated that SSI was a state-of-the-art facility, yet there was “no contingency present, like an emergency standby ambulance after removing Warren Mottley from a tertiary facility [QEH] to his place in Warrens [SSI]”.
“Why not as part of the state-of-the-art facility service contract a private ambulance to be on call . . . bearing in mind the location of the place?”
After the hour-and-a-half long decision was handed down, Dr Griffith walked out of the No. 10 Supreme Court with his family.
Asked for his reaction to the verdict, he responded: “The truth is the truth. The truth will come out someday.”
His attorneys Francis Depeiza from the law firm Carrington and Sealy, King’s Counsel Michael Lashley and Sade Harris said they were “waiting to take instructions” from their clients.
Lady Mottley, who had been holding a white handkerchief, wiping her tears during the proceedings, walked out the court surrounded by her family and some of her attorneys.
“We will call you,” she said when asked for her reaction.
The Mottley family was represented by the deceased’s father Sir Elliott Mottley, who was not present on Friday; his brother Stewart; and attorneys Faye Finisterre, Leslie Haynes K.C. and Senior Counsel from Trinidad Douglas Mendez.
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