Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 28, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free november 2000 locals baby deaths inquest f he report baby deaths continued from Page a1 Brian head of the health and John chief operating officer of said some changes have already been implemented at the which no longer performs Pedi Atric cardiac and they will be reviewing Sinclair report and his 36 rec Postl and Home said mistakes were made in and now that the inquest has some Hospital staff May be see Page health minister Dave Chomiak said yesterday that a committee will be put in place by the end of this week to implement recommendations As quickly As the report follows the longest inquest in Canadian it lasted 30 the report describes confused lines of authority within the hocs paediatric car Diac inadequate a flawed hiring process for and a disregard for nurses and for the needs of the families of the children and it indicates that staff were in Over their the evidence suggests that the pro Gram continually undertook cases that were beyond the skill and experience of the surgeon and the the report Hsc suspended the program in december 1994 because of the High mortality though the inquest into the deaths had no mandate to determine who is legally responsible for the the Only peo ple Sinclair absolves Are the parents the deaths of these children were not the result of any failing on the part of the writes yet of All those who have been involved in this sad the parents will continue to carry the greatest for we owe them the commitment to do All that we can to ensure that this does not Hap pen the report says families were not As informed As they should have been on dims qualifications and it says those running the cardiac pro Gram failed to fully take into account dims Lack of experience when he was originally and failed to supervise him once he it would be Safe to say that dims recruitment and hiring were marked by flawed Sinclair the failure to watch and observe Odim during actually performing or to speak with anyone who had recently performed surgery with provided Only an incomplete impression of dims surgical abilities and his ability to get along with other personnel in the operating dims Raymond said Sinclair report appears to cast blame on his even though that is beyond the mandate of an he added Sinclair should have Given More weight to the opinions of dims Odim is currently listed As a faculty member in cardio thoracic surgery at the Urcla medical Center in los he could not be reached for Sinclair recommends the province Cre ate a patients rights handbook ensuring Access to information about a surgeons and it recommends the Hsc establish a More thorough recruitment the fact that a surgeon has not per formed a particular surgical procedure on his or her own in an unsupervised setting in the past must be Sinclair says in the though nurses in the paediatric cardiac surgery program raised legitimate con Cerns about the the report says they were largely the report recommends the creation of whistle blowing legislation to protect nurses and other staff when reporting the report also singles out the College of physicians and which it says has yet to investigate any of the individual and the chief medical examiners it recommends the College revamp its policies so that future investigations no longer depend on the report states the chief medical examiners office failed to identify the problems with the paediatric cardiac surgery program in a timely it recommends establishing a Proto col requiring hospitals to inform the office of program changes and of any reviews forced by Hospital related while Chomiak said he is willing to meet parents to discuss he could give no definitive answer on whether it would be i understand that the parents and their Legal counsel want to discuss the Issue of in not at this Point saying yes or saying he he said the province is covering the parents Legal Bills for the Chomiak also refused to say if any individuals will be held doctors judgment questioned surgical team could have kept at least nine infants alive judge Olson 5 Pike fillets 5 Pickerel fillets 2 Pickerel Cheeks 59 main in 4826615 by Julia Necheff Joe Bryksa Winnipeg free press archives Jonah Odim refused to blame his surgical he came with left in controversy and left a legacy of tiny Graves and grieving Jonah Odim operated on a dozen most of them who died during or after heart surgery Over a 10month Span in 1994 at win Nipges health sciences during the inquest that Odim became the lightning Rod for victim outrage and he refused to fault his surgical instead he blamed his staff and said the families involved expected too much of modern his background was always somewhat of a mys Tery inquest didst delve into his age or birth place and he never spoke to critics charged he want up to the Job and yes inquest judge Murray Sinclair not ing that at least nine of the 12 deaths could have been prevented and that Odim and his team took on surgeries beyond their but dims capability was beyond question six years when he was hired by Hsc administrators to Lead the paediatric hear surgery the program itself had a Check ered history of shutdowns and High moralities in the 1980s and Odim himself had limited experience working Solo in the operating John a cardiovascular surgeon who worked with Odim in later testified he was uneasy doing anything other than simple cases with i was not comfortable with his level of tech Nical but Hsc staff were impressed with his he trained at the University of Yale uni Mcgill University in Montreal and har Vard before being recruited to but one expert paediatric surgeon Gary said the Hospital erred in hiring a Junior surgeon without first getting a letter of reference from where he trained in child heart and without interviewing any of dims problems soon two months into his Odim attempted a risky procedure on three week old Daniel who died after he didst Tell the family he previously had Only assisted in such an i had Confidence in my he it was Felt we could offer families an alternative to doing but the Childs Danica said the family never did get a straight answer from Odim about his experience with the i feel like he used my son As a Guinea she one child bled to death in surgery after a line to the hear lung bypass machine was left in another fatal adrenaline was dribbled on the blanching the an adult size saw was once used to Cut open a baby surgical room nurses complained Odim was at times abrasive and two anaesthetists questioned dims he turn questioned in the Case of today old Erin Odim Dis obeyed an order from the hospitals chief of surgery that he Call in a senior surgeon for operations on newborns or those that needed later i didst think it Little Erin went in for Lowrick surgery but ended up in a 12hour operation involving a she later about 18 months after the child heart program was finished at the so was Jonah Odim is currently listed As a faculty member in cardio thoracic surgery at the Urcla medical Cen Ter in los he be reached for com ment but in testimony he defended his time in in any Centre youre going to go through periods when you see clusters of he the deaths didst reflect the inability of the team or myself As a Canadian press for 2001 exactly what you deserve in a new car new Benchmark style from the flowing new Hood lines to the elegant new Accord for 2001 responsive a race inspired distinctive new taillights and a Crisp rear deck lid flush mounted controls and luxurious this Accord adds up to an exceptional driving More for mind soul new sporty new styling adds sleek looks to Accord new Interior dashboard styling with improved ergonomics new numerous nah improvements for the quietest Accord ride Ever new Latch child seat tether anchors to mount child safety seats front Seatbelt pretension ers advanced dual stage airbags Standard 6speaker cd system plus these proven Accord la features new from the ground difficult As 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