Forceps left in patient did not impact the final outcome – Specialist

An independent review has been carried out by a Trinidadian specialist in relation to the Sunday December 29 death of Arnott Hope at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH).

On Friday December 27, 2019, at around 9 p.m., Hope, a fisherman, was shot in the groin area while at his home in Pole Yard.

He was rushed to the MCMH where he underwent surgery and according to a family member, they were told that he was in a stable condition after the surgery.

However, Hope died shortly after a second surgery which was carried out to remove a pair of forceps which was left inside his abdomen by the surgical team.

An autopsy said Hope’s cause of death was complications due to gunshot/hypovolemia. Hypovolemia is a decreased volume of circulating blood in the body.
But family members are not accepting this and have passed the matter over to lawyer Israel Bruce.

On Wednesday, Minister of Health Luke Browne, speaking from the MCMH told SEARCHLIGHT that the independent review was done by a specialist from Trinidad and Tobago and the conclusion is that the matter of the forceps being left in Hope did not impact the final outcome.

“He (the specialist) made some comments on the general chances of survival for somebody who suffers an injury similar to what Hope had, and I think that if my memory serves me right, there is a 40% chance of death from those types of injuries,” said the health minister.

He added that it was unfortunate that Hope suffered the fate he did, and it was also unfortunate that he was involved in the incident that led him to be hospitalized.

“I believe that the persons here at the hospital, notwithstanding the fact that in an ideal situation you should have perhaps removed the instrument, I believe that the persons who looked after him at the hospital did their best in the course of their duties,” Minister Browne said.

On Wednesday, the dead man’s niece, Sandra Forbes, told SEARCHLIGHT that the family does not wish to comment on the matter as it is being dealt with by their lawyer.

Hope, 58, was buried on Wednesday January 15 at the Belair cemetery after a service at the Belair Anglican Church.

Reports coming out of the MCMH are that after Hope’s surgery, the scrub nurse advised that a pair of forceps was missing and might be inside the patient.

Reports are also that one staff member said that could not possible, but an x-ray the day after the surgery revealed that the forceps were indeed inside the patient.

It is alleged that Hope died after the forceps were removed.