Less than two months after the death of six year old McLeno Markus Martindale of South Rupununi Primary in Region nine, followed by the negligent death of three year old Jeniah Iris McPherson at the COVID-19 Hospital Liliendaal last months, another family is mourning the death of their child; this time at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
In a Facebook post recently Sharda Lall, aunt of the 26 year old mother of ‘Baby Aiden’ related that the expected mother and the entire family were very excited about having a little boy in the family, only to find out that everyone’s excitement was to be short-lived. She explained that the pregnancy went well without any complications. But, due to the mother being a previous cesarean section patient, it was decided that the mother would be admitted at the Leonora Cottage Hospital Clinic, to have another cesarean instead of going into labor.
The pregnant woman’s last clinic date was January 26. Lall explained that her niece then went to the gynecologist’s clinic and was given a referral letter to go to West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), for emergency admission since the baby’s heartbeat was dropping. Lall related that on arrival at WDRH, her niece was told that the midwife had finished working and she was told to go back the next day (Thursday, January 27) before 08:00 hrs. On Thursday the pregnant woman went back to the hospital, and the doctor on duty checked. It reportedly took about 30 minutes to find the baby’s heartbeat, the aunt said.
Strangely, the doctor told her to go and come back on February 02, 2022 (three days later) for admission and that a C-Section would be done on February 4, 2022, six days after an ultrasound detected an abnormal heartbeat. However, she went on to state that on February 2, her niece went back to the WDRH accompanied by her mother, and after being checked by the doctor, they told her there is no movement and no heartbeat and they believed that the baby had died. She said that her niece was sent to have an ultrasound done at Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown. Lall further stated, “My niece said that her mom was outside, and one of the nurses rudely and loudly said, “How come you have money to do tattoos and don’t have money to do an ultrasound.”
“Nobody ever said they don’t have money not because you are going to a public hospital; as a citizen of Guyana everyone has the right to be given free health care without being judged by doctors and nurses. If you don’t have empathy for people, why become a nurse in the first place?,“ the aunt lamented. Eventually the ultrasound was done and it was confirmed that the baby died. “My niece was in shock and she ran outside to her mother in tears. She went back to West Demerara Hospital where she was admitted and was told that they will do the C-Section to take the baby out. All day she waited in the ward, the doctor told her they have another patient that have to do surgery and that they will need the blood for that patient. If they don‘t use the blood only then they will do surgery on her or she will have to wait until the next morning, anyways she went into surgery about 10 pm the night,” Lall stated.
Lall questioned, “All the time the baby’s heartbeat was dropping and yet she wasn’t admitted, so whose fault is it that the baby died?” The death of little Aiden again raises questions about the Government and more specifically the Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony’s ability to safely manage the Health Sector in Guyana.
More, In The Ring.
