Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1504427
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 JULY 2023 NEWS NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS SEVEN medical professionals were cleared of involuntary hom- icide over the death of a two- year-old girl in hospital 12 years ago. The court ordered a ban on the publication of the names, af- ter decreeing that their conduct was in line with well-established medical practices, and that they had done all that was reasonably expected of a prudent doctor . The child had been admitted to hospital suffering from symp- toms of gastroenteritis after run- ning a fever and vomiting when first admitted to St James Hospi- tal. First diagnosed with gastric flu, she was then referred to Mater Dei Hospital to be rehydrated with a drop. The child's parents later developed similar symp- toms. Three days after her admission to hospital, a specialist train- ee noted symptoms of lethargy, high fever, "wakes up and cries for a few seconds and goes back to sleep..... Looks comfortable but very lethargic.... no rashes, no meningal signs. " But soon after, the child suf- fered a cardiopulmonary arrest. Attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, and the child died. The autopsy found the death had occurred due to "natural causes, namely meningitis, prov- en bacteriologically to be strepto- coccal in origin." But the prosecution charged all seven medical professionals with having been careless in the exer- cise of their profession, by failing to carry out further tests over and above the blood tests on the evi- dently deteriorating condition of the girl. Faced with all those symptoms, they had also failed to suspect that the cause was meningitis. The defence insisted that the child's clinical chart and medical history consistently pointed at gastroenteritis and that no spe- cific symptom could have rea- sonably triggered a suspicion of meningitis. Magistrate Rachel Montebello concluded that all seven doctors had adopted an adequate and reasonable approach, based on clinical tests and the patient's medical history. The court said they were "not duty-bound to adopt ultra-precautionary or de- fensive measures" that were then unncessary in the circumstances. Lawyers Michael, Lucio Sciriha and Joe Giglio variously assisted the accused. Doctors cleared of toddler's death from meningitis Seven doctors cleared of involuntary homicide over death of two- year-old girl in hospital 12 years ago THE University of Malta (UM) and the Malta Co-operative Federation (MCF) have signed a Memorandum of Under- standing (MOU) with a view to collaborate in promoting the co-operative model of doing business. UM and MCF already have a track record of working to- gether in promoting this model among UM students. Through this MOU, both par- ties are committing to improve on the already established working relationship in order to: • Promote the co-operative model of enterprise among all UM students • Explore areas of potential co-operative endeavours • Set up of new co-operative enterprises • Offer internship oppor- tunities for UM students in a co-operative setting • Conduct research on co-op- eratives and co-operative initi- atives John Mallia, President of MCF thanked the University of Mal- ta for its receptive approach to- wards advancing the co-opera- tive model as a sustainable and viable business model. "MCF has been active at UM in the past and through this MOU we will ensure that students are equipped with enough knowledge about work- ing together in a co-operative setting, following co-operative principles and creating a fairer distribution of the wealth they generate," he said. Prof. Alfred J. Vella, UM Rector said, "this collabora- tion with the Malta Co-oper- ative Federation is important for the University as it offers students a chance to immerse themselves in this form of en- terprise. It also provides fur- ther opportunities that could lead to innovative ideas and re- search in this field, ultimately serving the community beyond UM. On behalf of the Univer- sity, I would like to thank the Malta Co-operative Federation for their commitment in mak- ing this possible." Both UM and MCF believe this endeavour will bring about positive and tangible results for the benefit of a fairer and more co-operative economy and so- ciety. University of Malta signs an MOU with the Malta Co-operative Federation Prof. Alfred J. Vella, University of Malta Rector (third from left) and John Mallia, President of the Malta Co-operative Federation (fourth from left) signed the MOU