A cry changed everything.

A paramedic saw the tiny body of a newborn girl, pronounced dead at Humber River Hospital, covered by a sheet on a warming table.

He was later told the baby was actually alive, after a police officer spotted movement under the sheet.

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“I proceeded to the ER room,” the paramedic’s partner wrote in an incident report, “and saw staff caring for the child that was now crying and moving around for the first time in my presence throughout the call.”

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The glimpse inside Humber River, which has kept secret most information about wrongly pronouncing the baby dead in February, comes from Emergency Medical Services documents and audio, released to the Star by the City of Toronto under freedom of information legislation.

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While heavily censored EMS records were released, Humber River Hospital and Toronto police denied freedom of information requests for related documents. The hospital has continued to refuse to publicly say what happened.

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Critics say using privacy concerns to block access to all information, in a case with such public interest, is wrong.

“This young mother has certainly gone through quite an ordeal and respecting her privacy, certainly that’s important,” said Sharon Polsky, president of the Privacy and Access Council of Canada, which represents professionals in the field.

“But being able to release information, not personal information, but information surrounding the incident . . . there’s nothing personal about it.”

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The woman and her mother had almost made it to Humber River’s Finch site when they called 911 around 5:50 a.m. on Feb. 17.

“She can’t walk any more,” a female 911 caller says, frantically trying to explain exactly where they were, behind Yorkgate Mall, near Jane St. and Finch Ave. W.

Two night-shift paramedics from a nearby station didn’t see anyone at first, until they spotted the woman’s mother waving her arms. They later called for another ambulance for her daughter.

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Around that time a dispatcher, who described the situation a full-term birth, called the hospital.

“Hey Finch, I just want to give you a head’s up. A 20-year-old female just gave birth (redacted) . . . at Jane/Finch mall,” she said. “Um, we have (advanced life support) with the baby now; I don’t know the status. But they would likely be coming to you.”

An extra paramedic jumped in the back of the ambulance carrying the baby to help with life support efforts. Once they left, they drove slowly, pulling over twice.

EMS spokesperson Kim McKinnon said the reports released to the Star were part of an internal EMS review, which found its staff followed procedure and its policies didn’t need changing. “This was obviously a very public situation and unusual so we would, as a matter of course, review it,” she said.

The hospital denied the Star’s freedom of information request partially because of privacy laws, which were also a reason given by CEO Dr. Rueben Devlin to not release information about the incident. The patient has never been identified.

The hospital has also declined to give information about policy changes or its investigation, since it was conducted under the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, which makes secret any findings and recommendations that come out of incident reviews.

say the law has turned into a tool some hospitals use to blanket all investigations in secrecy. Responding to questions about the act raised in the Star last week, the Ontario Hospital Association has reminded hospitals about appropriate use of QCIPA and planned a survey of how it is used.

Health Minister Deb Matthews said in an interview Monday that it’s important all hospitals are using the Act evenly, but the Act is necessary.

“There has to be a place where there can be full, frank disclosure without any fear of recrimination,” she said.

Spokesman Mark Pugash said Toronto police stand by their refusal to release any documents, citing privacy concerns. He said it’s consistent with “the spirit” of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, despite the city determining access should be allowed to EMS records, as long as personal health information was removed.

It’s not unusual for different institutions to come to opposite conclusions about what is private information, said Brian Beamish, Ontario’s assistant information and privacy commissioner.“You’re going to get different approaches and that’s why the Act is set up to allow people to appeal to our office, and we can have the final determination.”

But Toby Mendel, executive director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, which studies Canadian access requests, said there’s a lot of confusion about privacy. While the mother’s identity shouldn’t be released, privacy shouldn’t be used as a blanket reason to deny all information, he said.

“There’s a strong need for openness when something very unfortunate and bizarre like this happens,” he said.