The Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) has again pushed back its official release of findings from the investigation into the timeliness of treatment received by Basmattie Balkarran the day she was rushed from the Leonora Hospital in a serious condition and died after allegedly being left unattended for hours.
The woman died on May 3 and the hospital had announced that it would conduct an investigation on May 4. When contacted again by this newspaper, Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan restated that the details and recommendations of such a report would be released at a press conference. That press conference, he had told this newspaper last week, would be held this week. But yesterday he said the press conference would now be held on June 13.
Twenty-seven-year-old Basmattie Balkarran of Ruby Backdam, Parika, a mother of three, was first treated at the Leonora Cottage Hospital over three weeks ago and was transferred to the GPHC the same day but her relatives had told this newspaper that even though she was rushed to Georgetown in an ambulance and was in a critical condition she had to wait for hours before being taken into the Emergency Room (ER). By the time the doctor was ready to attend to her, she had breathed her last.
The woman reportedly waited for treatment outside the ER for seven hours.
Following this newspaper’s publication of the incident, the GPHC had released a statement announcing the establishment of a committee to inquire into the woman’s death and had stated too that it was “fully committed to finding out exactly what happened when the patient was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit.” The statement had said too that the committee comprised the Sister-in-Charge of the Accident and Emergency Unit and the Assistant Director of Nursing, among others to fully investigate the matter. Further, the hospital said it viewed the article with “deep concern.”
A post-mortem examination revealed that Balkarran died of a ruptured brain aneurysm and massive intracranial bleeding. The hospital had said that the death of Basmattie Balkarran “may not have been preventable… but that it was still pursuing investigation as to why she was not seen in a timelier manner.” Relatives of the woman told Stabroek News that they have not heard from the hospital administration since. They had told this newspaper too that they are doubtful that the hospital’s investigation of the incident will yield them justice.
They had said that their primary reason for airing the incident in the press was to highlight the need for medical personnel to pay more attention to patients, especially those in critical condition.
