UNC angry by poor emergency response at Hall of Justice

THE OPPOSITION UNC has criticised the poor emergency response at the Hall of Justice where, on Friday, attorney Neil Byam collapsed and later died while in the Court of Appeal.

The Opposition sent condolences to Byam's family, friends and colleagues.

On Sunday, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said many of his UNC colleagues knew Byam since he spent decades at the Solicitor General's department. He retired in 2021 as deputy SG.

He described Byan as a kind, professional and affable person. However, he said the reports they received about the incident, left him saddened.

“It was not on time, not urgent, not done in haste to come to the aid of Mr Byam when he collapsed.

“Our information is that the emergency response was far from adequate and that there was no emergency kit or any kind of relevant emergency or medical equipment that could be found at the Hall of Justice to come to the aid of this man.”

On Friday, Justice of Appeal Prakash Moosai, one of the judges who witnessed Byam's collapse in court, said it may be necessary for the Judiciary to overhaul its emergency protocols to provide an expeditious response in cases of medical emergencies.

A doctor had to be contacted to assist the judges and lawyers who were in court to provide aid to Byam. A security officer was also praised for her role in starting compressions long before the emergency response technicans arrived.

Moonilal said situations like these happens daily across the country where emergency services cannot respond on time.

He said he did not blame the fire or ambulance service for this inefficiency.

“I blame the political directorate that manages those services. We are told that to this day, no one has reached out to the lawyers or witnesses present, to offer some kind of counselling or even engage in talking.“

“No one’s life is more important than another. All lives are important, but it is only when it happens in this dramatic way, to a high office holder in a major department or space, it makes the point that ordinary citizens face this on a daily basis and something ought to be done to fix it,” Moonilal said.