Eugene Thomas, 57, of Thomas Hill, Mabaruma, Region One, died a week after she was bitten by a snake, prompting her family to call for an investigation into the actions of the doctor in charge of the Mabaruma Hospital, who delayed referring the case to the city although he had no medication to treat her.
Thomas, a mother of three, was buried on April 10, three days after she died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and her relatives believe the almost 48 hours delay before she was referred to the city contributed to her death.
Speaking to Stabroek News via phone from Thomas Hill, one of the woman’s daughters, Gloria Rouse, said her mother was bitten around midday on April 3. “We were coming from a bingo [game] and when we were walking on the little track coming home she feel something like a nip and when she look down she barely see the tail of the snake going in the grass,” Rouse said.
Thomas was bitten on her left ankle. She was immediately taken to the hospital, where she was admitted. Rouse said she later spoke to the doctor, who indicated that he was treating the woman for the snake bite. “Later in the night, I went back and I see me mother face swell and looking puff and when I ask the doctor he tell me that is she pressure,” she said.
According to her, when questioned again the doctor maintained that he was treating Thomas for the snake bite. Nevertheless, a frightened Rouse requested that Thomas be referred to the city.
She said the doctor told her that he was “observing” Thomas and even told her that he had treated two other persons at the hospital for snake bites and all was well with them.
Rouse said although her mother’s face was swollen, she appeared strong and was talking. She still pressed the doctor to refer Thomas but he was reluctant. By the next night, Thomas started bleeding from the gums, which the doctor claimed was as result of her brushing her teeth.
The woman said she begged the doctor to refer her mother once again and he told her that the region had no money to transfer the patient. She informed him that the family was not depending on the region as they were prepared to bear the cost. “I tell he that tomorrow [the Tuesday after her mother was bitten] even if he didn’t write up the paper, I taking me mother and I booking the flight,” Rouse said.
She later received a call from the hospital and was told that the doctor had written up the referral and Thomas was air dashed to the city and admitted to the GPH on Tuesday. Rouse said the doctors in Georgetown later told her brother that it may have been too late for Thomas, since the poison had spread throughout her body. Thomas died on Thursday night.
Thomas’ younger sister, Rose Loy, flew into Guyana from the US on Thursday and spoke to her sister at the hospital before she died. “My sister spoke to me but she was blowing short and her body was getting blue and that mean the poison was everywhere,” she said.
Loy added that when she travelled to Mabaruma, she met the doctor, whom she asked why he took such a long time to transfer her sister. He told her he had not admitted her sister and never saw her in the ward until Monday. However, Rouse maintains that she spoke to the doctor the very Sunday night her mother was admitted.
Loy also said the doctor told her there was no medication at the hospital to treat snake bites and that he was just “observing” her. “He didn’t have much to tell me but from what I gathered because my sister was talking strong, he did not believe that it was snake bite and is only when she started bleeding through her gum that he took action,” she said.
Additionally, Loy said nurses at the hospital informed her that immediately after her sister arrived and informed them she was bitten by a snake, they tied her foot at the top of the bite to isolate the poison. However, when the doctor arrived shortly after, he ordered that the cloth they used to tie the foot be removed. “If he know there was no medication to treat the snake bite, why he delay to refer my sister when the family was paying the cost?” she questioned.
The woman said she has since learnt that the doctor only has three years experience as a medical doctor and she questioned why someone with little or no experience was left in charge of a hospital that covers an entire sub-region. “I was very upset with the way he speak to me. He was very mean in his manner and he told me ‘you can do what you want,’” she claimed. “…I have no more sisters left. She was the only sister alive and I am the youngest. I want this matter investigated and I will be going to the Ministry of Health with it,” Loy said.
