Pamela Lashley, the woman who accused the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) of negligence in the death of her 12lb baby has not engaged the hospital’s administration, after being persuaded not to by relatives as a result of her poor health.
The 32-year-old primary school teacher of Victoria, East Coast Demerara, had told Stabroek News that she was forced to deliver her infant son vaginally on Friday last. The woman said she was convinced her baby died of a broken neck he sustained after his head protruded before she was taken to the delivery room. It was the second such case reported at the hospital in less than two weeks.
Lashley had also expressed dissatisfaction that the hospital buried her child at an unknown location, even after she refused to sign documents which would allow the state to do so and said she was refused an autopsy.
The hospital in response stated that the child was stillborn and “the hospital’s policy is not to perform autopsies on stillborn (mascerated) babies”, while denying that it had buried the body. In a press release, the hospital stated that the baby’s body was being kept at the hospital mortuary and further invited Lashley to identify her child.
When Stabroek News yesterday contacted a relative of the woman (who preferred to remain anonymous), it was disclosed that because of her deteriorating health, Lashley was advised not to visit the hospital as it would be fatiguing for her and there was no confidence that she would gain any satisfaction.
“Her health is not that good so we convinced her not to go. She really wanted to go but we don’t think the hospital will give us any justice,” the relative said.
The source said she had accompanied Lashley to the GPH on two occasions to collect her baby’s body but they were turned away both times.
“They said they bury the baby. They even tell her they won’t make the same mistake twice. They said baby Lashley wasn’t there,” the source stated while speculating that the family might have been presented with another body or the form may have changed after being kept for almost one week in the freezer.
“They prolonging it and the longer they go on with it, the worse her health is getting. That is why we prefer her to just rest at home,” the relative added.
