Charmain De Mendonca, the accident victim who says she was abused at the hands of a doctor at the Georgetown hospital called the hospital unprofessional after it failed to inform her about its findings one week after an internal probe was completed.
In an invited comment, Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan told Stabroek News on Wednesday that he was legally advised that he did not have to inform De Mendonca of the findings. He later contacted the paper to say that he had forgotten to mention that he would be writing the woman yesterday to inform her of the results.
De Mendonca said on Wednesday that the hospital had initially written to her saying that they would communicate their findings but to date she was still waiting. The complainant said she was disturbed that the hospital first contacted the media about the results of the probe, bypassing her. She said too she believes that the hospital’s findings which exonerated the doctor of any wrong-doing were biased.
De Mendonca contends that she and the doctor should have been the sole subjects of the investigation and the security personnel should not have been included. She explained that when she was being abused no one could have seen or heard. “It was just me and him. Security was nowhere around. And persons would not have seen anything because of the screen,” she said, adding that the security personnel were not in the emergency room when the incident occurred. De Mendonca explained that the security personnel would sit near a door in the hall which divides the emergency room into two parts. She said that they are not in the room with the patients.
Commenting on the hospital’s explanation that the doctor had simply being following procedure De Mendonca said she has since spoken to several doctors and they have all said that the pressing of chest and scratching between the toes is not a normal procedure when examining patients. She said that they described it as strange as during an examination a doctor has to be careful because of the soft tissue injuries a patient might have.
De Mendonca made a plea to those responsible at the institution to install security cameras in the hospital, especially the emergency room to prevent a recurrence of her experience. The woman had told this newspaper that following the release of the hospital’s findings that she would take legal action. However, on Wednesday she said that she had been advised not to proceed with legal action until the Ethnic Relations Commission has completed their investigations.
The woman’s story drew the public’s attention when it was highlighted on Prime News, the day after the incident allegedly occurred. De Mendonca alleged that on March 26 following a vehicular accident she was taken to the Georgetown hospital around 2.20 pm in an unconscious state. On regaining consciousness a few hours later, the doctor who was examining her allegedly twisted her ear, pressed into her chest and dug between her toes with a key, all the while calling her a “black fool” and hurling other racial slurs.
A report was subsequently made to the hospital and the Alberttown Police Station. A medical examination at the same hospital and at private doctor both showed that De Mendonca had soft tissue injuries to the chest and abrasions to the second and third toes, injuries that are not constant with an accident.
Upon completion of their internal investigation, more that one week after the alleged incident occurred, the hospital said that they found De Mendonca’s claims were unsubstantiated and untrue and dismissed the actions by the doctor as nothing more than routine techniques of physical examination, consistent with her injury.
In a press release the hospital said that at the time of her examination it was uncertain whether De Mendonca was unable or unwilling to speak adding that pressure on the sternum (chest) was to elicit response to pain and arousability and the scratching of the foot with the key was to obtain a certain neurological reflex.
The hospital said too that investigations revealed that the woman pulled off an oxygen mask bursting a rubber and stinging herself as a result. Further, it said that the claims of racial slurs were false as security personnel on duty and other persons nearby would have heard.
De Mendonca dismissed the findings saying that she had expected nothing else and believed that it was the hospital’s policy to cover up for their own when incidents occur there. The woman had sent letters of complaint to various officials at the hospital, the Minister of Health, the medical board and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU). (Zoisa Fraser)
