Wednesday, February 2, 2000 

Sick Kids' officials hit at inquest

By DICK CHAPMAN, TORONTO SUN
The coroner who investigated Lisa Shore's death says he was very
disturbed with the behaviour of Hospital for Sick Children officials
and nurses after the tragedy. 

Asked at an inquest yesterday whether Sick Kids' co-operation
was much less than he expects from such a famous institution, Dr.
Morton Reingold replied: "That's a fair statement." 

Reingold made it clear, however, he has "no reason to expect
anything was done intentionally." 

Reingold said he never got a straight answer from the hospital
regarding a "missing" corometric monitor two nurses swear they
attached to Lisa soon after she arrived on their ward at 1:45 a.m.
on Oct. 22, 1998. 

The corometric monitor for heart rate and breathing is a common
device at Sick Kids. Its alleged use in Lisa's case is in contention
at the inquest. It has two alarms, either of which could have saved
Lisa's life had they sounded. 

The inquest has heard nurse Ruth Doerksen say she turned off the
breathing alarm to let Lisa sleep undisturbed. 

Lisa's mom Sharon, who slept beside her 10-year-old daughter
the night she died, took the stand earlier yesterday to vehemently
dispute the nurses' claim about using the monitor. 

Reingold also said four Sick Kids' officials at a March 1999
meeting did not explain why nobody even mentioned a corometric
monitor until four months after Lisa died. 

"I was not told about it (in October 1998) when I asked about
relevant events and equipment used," he said. 

When he pressed the issue at the March 1999 meeting: "There
was no big answer to that question."