Jeanine Phanis died at the West Guiana Hospital Center on July 3, 2024. Since then, her parents have continued to demand information and have filed a complaint against the hospital. This Friday, November 8, more than four months after the death of their child, they received the detailed report from the hospital, but do not know more.
Since July 3, the date of the death of their daughter Jeanine, Diana and Jean Phanis have oscillated between incomprehension and anger. They don't know what caused Jeanine's death at the Western Guiana Hospital (Chog). And the document they received by registered mail this Friday morning does not enlighten them in any way.
To try to unravel the thread of this story, we have to go back in time. Jeanine, 22, is an undergraduate student and lives in France. Following a sentimental disappointment, she returned home, to her parents in Saint-Laurent du Maroni. Because the young woman eats little and suffers from sleep problems, her doctor refers her to the hospital. Jeanine will stay in the Chog emergency room for almost a week, undergoing tests, accompanied by her mother Diana. On July 2, she was referred to the mental health service.
What happened next was Jeanine's parents who told the story on October 30, during a press conference that they gave accompanied by their lawyer, Mr. Jean-Yves Marcault-Derouard, and members of the Association of Users of the Chog (AduChog) « As soon as we arrived, my daughter said to me, “Daddy, I don’t want to stay here.” » remembers Jean Phanis. In this service, companions are not admitted. Diana Phanis therefore cannot stay with her daughter. On the evening of Wednesday July 3, the parents were called: their daughter was “dying” in the emergency room. Parents rush to the scene “As soon as I arrived,” says the father, “I saw a doctor who told me: “I wasn’t the one who killed your daughter, if you need answers, you need to go to the psychiatry department.” The people who were there told me that they had been trying to resuscitate her for two hours. »
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The parents stay with their daughter's body and recount the trauma of seeing her leave for the death chamber “They wrapped her up like a package, then we went down with them…” The death certificate, which we have consulted, states that there is no “no medico-legal obstacle”. This box must be checked in the event of death in suspicious, violent or unknown circumstances. Still according to the death certificate, the doctor did not request an autopsy either.
Jeanine will be buried in the Saint-Laurent cemetery on July 12. On July 15 and 16, the family contacted Chog to obtain the medical file. Without a response, they filed a complaint on August 6. These steps will be followed by a meeting, on September 6, with a member of the management of the West Guiana Hospital Center who presents his condolences and apologizes for the “failures in communication” with loved ones. At this moment: Jeanine's parents leave with a promise: the close distribution of the medical file which was at this stage “currently being written”. The Chog also promises a detailed report on support.
When they received the medical file two weeks after the meeting, the family learned nothing more. « It is a clearly redacted medical file which arrived in the hands of the family » adds lawyer Jean-Yves Marcault-Derouard.
This Friday, November 8, the long-awaited detailed report reached the Phanis family. Jean Phanis' anger is perceptible. « They play with our feelings, our pain, our sadness. This report says nothing. I don't understand everything and I'm going to see my family doctor to understand what he's saying. But what we can already see is that the report only talks about the visit to the emergency room, from his arrival at 7:03 p.m. Nothing is said about his stay in psychiatry.”
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Laurent Priou, president of AduChog, always alongside the family, drives home the point : « When we met, the Chog promised a full report. We were even told that the psychiatry section was already written and that only the emergency section was missing. There, the report received does not speak of psychiatry, but this is probably where the cause of the discomfort should be sought. »
When contacted, the Western Guyana Hospital Center indicated that only the Regional Health Agency of Guyana could communicate on this matter. In its response, the ARS recalls that this death was not the subject of a report of a serious adverse event by the Chog teams. This device allows any health personnel to notify authorities such as the ARS of the occurrence of a “ unexpected event with regard to the person's state of health and pathology and the consequences of which are death, life-threatening prognosis, the probable occurrence of a permanent functional deficit, including an anomaly or malformation congenital » according to the definition of the High Health Authority. The objective being to understand the reasons for this event and to prevent it from happening again.
Responding to our requests, the Director of the ARS expresses his support for the family and indicates: “because of the importance I attach to the quality and transparency of care, I asked Madame Ninon Gautier (the newly appointed director, editor’s note) to send me all the precise and exhaustive information concerning the care of Mrs. Phanis. » Damien Brochard specifies: « Safety of care and clear communication with patients and their families are among the major priorities of ARS Guyana. We are committed to continually strengthening these aspects, in partnership with all health establishments and professionals in the region. »
Following the report received this Friday, the Phanis family will once again write a registered letter to the hospital, as well as to the Regional Health Agency, already the recipient of a first letter in July. « We tried to be understanding, but here they go beyond the limits” slips Jean Phanis.
