By Iana Seales
The Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) will investigate the death of 10-year-old Kean Greaves who was diagnosed with appendicitis and later died at the hospital following days of medical evaluation.
Medical Director at GPHC, Dr. Madan Rambaran said yesterday that it is in keeping with hospital protocol to investigate such deaths. The hospital had in the past set up a mortality and morbidity committee to investigate deaths.
Dr. Rambaran noted that doctors at the hospital would usually evaluate a patient who comes in and based on that evaluation it is determined what test if any the patient needs. He said patients are not given a battery of tests to figure out what is wrong with them.
On the two days that Kean Greaves was treated and sent away at the Emergency Room of the public hospital, traffic was considerably heavy. Stabroek News was informed that on May 28, which is the first day the child was rushed to ER, 260 patients were evaluated and on May 29, 264 patients turned up at the hospital and were treated.
Outside of the hospital’s committee Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy had stated nearly three years ago that every death must be investigated at hospitals across the country particularly maternal and infant deaths.
It is unclear whether hospitals have been acting in accordance with the Minister’s declaration and investigating every death. Often the findings of many such investigations are never made public and relatives of the deceased are never contacted after lodging complaints.
Trudy Nero, mother of the dead child told Stabroek News yesterday that the public hospital out of courtesy should have contacted her to say that they will investigate the girl’s death.
“This is not about me complaining to them about my daughter, they should at least call to say we are doing something”, the woman added.
Tummy
Nero’s daughter started complaining of a pain in her tummy on May 26 but at the time the woman had no idea what was wrong with the little girl. She later learnt the child had appendicitis and a post-mortem report concluded that a ruptured appendix was the cause of death.
Appendicitis is a condition in which the appendix becomes inflamed and filled with pus. The appendix is a finger-shaped pouch that projects out from the colon on the lower right side of the abdomen.
The main symptom of appendicitis is pain that typically begins around the navel and then shifts to the lower right side of the abdomen. The pain of appendicitis usually increases over a period of six to 12 hours, and eventually may become very severe. Though anyone can develop appendicitis it often strikes people between the ages of 10 and 30. But children much younger have been affected. The standard treatment for appendicitis is surgical removal of the appendix.
After the child first complained of the pain Nero was running to the public hospital almost every day with her to find out what was wrong. She said she even consulted a doctor at Woodlands Hospital but was told that her daughter was okay.
Woodlands Hospital when contacted yesterday searched for records of the child but found none. A representative told Stabroek News that more information was needed and also pointed out that the doctor who saw the girl might still have the patient card in his office and is yet to file with the hospital.
The sequence of events as recounted by Nero is as follows:
May 27. Nero rushes her daughter to the paediatric clinic at the public hospital and after a doctor examines the girl she receives tablets and is sent away.
May 28. The child complains about the pain in her tummy again and Nero rushes her to the ER at the public hospital. Another doctor examines her and diagnoses appendicitis. Nero is told that the child needs surgery.
But after consulting with another doctor the surgery is called off and the child is cleared to go home.
May 29. The girl’s health does not improve and she is rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre on the East Bank. A doctor examines her and concludes that there is a problem somewhere in her gall bladder. She is rushed to the ER at the public hospital but is again sent away after another doctor clears her.
May 31. Nero rushes her daughter to Woodlands Hospital and after the girl is seen by a doctor she is cleared to go home.
June 1. The child is rushed to the public hospital and is placed on the list for immediate surgery. She has the surgery later in the night.
June 2. The child passes away.