PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Two important stories published this weekend (Saturday April 29, 2017) raise serious doubts, ten years later, about what was learned from the Gouge inquiry, which as the Toronto Star points out "exposed the devastating fallout of
SickKids pathologist Charles Smith, the Hospital for Sick Children." In one of these articles, (Part One) the Star's Rachel Mendleson asks "What is ailing Sickkids?" - and investigates "how Toronto’s world-class children’s hospital missed the warning signs." As the Star points out: "A
decade after a public inquiry exposed the devastating fallout of
SickKids pathologist Charles Smith, the Hospital for Sick Children is
grappling with Motherisk, another scandal involving families torn apart
by flawed forensics. A Star investigation reveals lingering questions
and a battle to rebuild public trust by an institution that can’t afford
to get it wrong again." In the second story , Christie Blatchford, writes about "The uncomfortable questions once again being asked of Ontario’s
chief pathologist," - Dr. Michael Pollanen - in the National Post, and asks, " How can
it be that almost a decade after the Goudge inquiry released
its report into the messy trail left behind by former SickKids’
pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, the white knight who rode in to build
Ontario a new forensic service and save the day is now being asked
uncomfortably familiar questions? "The white knight, of course, is Dr. Michael Pollanen," says Blatchford. "Ontario’s chief
forensic pathologist since 2006, the year that allegations about Smith
reached a critical mass and prompted a sweeping coroner’s review. It
found that Smith had reached dubious conclusions of foul play in 20
child autopsies, some of which ended in wrongful convictions."
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STORY: "What’s ailing SickKids? How Toronto’s world-class children’s hospital missed the warning signs," by reporter Rachel Mendleson, published by The Toronto Star on April 29, 2017.
SUB-HEADING: "A
decade after a public inquiry exposed the devastating fallout of
SickKids pathologist Charles Smith, the Hospital for Sick Children is
grappling with Motherisk, another scandal involving families torn apart
by flawed forensics. A Star investigation reveals lingering questions
and a battle to rebuild public trust by an institution that can’t afford
to get it wrong again.
GIST: "When
Brenda Waudby pulled up the article on her cellphone, she could barely
process what she was reading. She can no longer remember the headline,
but the words took her back to the most horrifying time in her life. The
Hospital for Sick Children. Evidence. Unreliable. “I felt like throwing up,” she said. “It was like, ‘Oh my God. Here we go again.’” In
1997, Waudby was a single mom in Peterborough, Ont., recovering from
cocaine addiction and the violent death of her 21-month-old daughter,
Jenna Mellor, when SickKids pathologist Charles Smith ran a bulldozer
through her life. Smith’s flawed opinions led police to charge Waudby
for Jenna’s murder. It took years to regain custody of her two other
children, clear her name and bring the real killer — Jenna’s 14-year-old
babysitter — to justice. Smith’s faulty
autopsy analyses tainted more than a dozen cases, including that of
William Mullins-Johnson, who was jailed for 12 years after being
wrongfully convicted in the 1993 death of his niece. In late April 2007, the province launched the
Goudge Inquiry
into pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario and Smith. In the months
that followed, Waudby was a regular in the public gallery on the 22nd
floor of a grey office tower on Dundas St. West, as the evidence
untangled a knot of systemic failings at some of the province’s most
trusted institutions, including SickKids.
“I was really hopeful that they’d learned,” she said. “I was hopeful that the systems had corrected their issues.” That
hope faded with news of Motherisk, another scandal involving a SickKids
doctor, flawed forensics, marginalized parents and families torn apart. “It’s like we were disregarded. All we went through, that didn’t matter,” she said. “How could they forget so quickly?” (Rachel Mendleson's excellent feature is far too comprehensive to summarize. So, dear reader, read on. HL)
The entire story can be found at:
https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2017/04/29/whats-ailing-sickkids-how-torontos-world-class-childrens-hospital-missed-the-warning-signs.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the
Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my
previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put
considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith
and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest
to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy;
Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;