TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, April 25 - Port-of-Spain, April 22, 2022: The Ministry of Health offers its deepest condolences to the family of teenager Triston Ramlochan, who passed away on the 14^th April, 2022.

The Children’s Life Fund Authority (CLFA) provided a report to the Ministry of Health on this matter. The Ministry is advised that the Board and staff of the CLFA made all efforts to provide support to the family of Tristan Ramlochan in the shortest time frame possible.

Upon the receipt of all the required final documents from the family of the patient and the clinical teams, and the subsequent completion of the requisite internal process, approval was granted by the Board of the CLFA to provide funding to support the required travel, as well as some of the medical treatment to be done at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in India.

Unfortunately, CLF was advised, by the travel agency, of the cancellation of the first flight that was scheduled to take Ramlochan to India for treatment. This cancellation was out of the control of the Authority. The unfortunate clinical deterioration of the patient (as reported by the doctor in charge of his care) prevented the family from making the journey at a later time. Triston Ramlochan simply became too ill to travel.

As with all cases, the Children’s Life Fund Authority (CLFA) takes its role in providing financial support for children with life-threatening medical conditions very seriously and treats all cases with urgency.

The CLFA will continue to assiduously fulfil its duty to manage and administer the Children's Life Fund and provide this critical support to some of the most vulnerable in our society.