The family of Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder resident Seelall Hemlall is accusing staff at the Mibicuri and New Amsterdam hospitals, of poor care and negligence, after he developed an infection.
Family members of Hemlall, 53, eventually sought to have him treated at the private Balwant Singh Hospital because they felt he was not receiving proper care at the public institutions, over the last week.
The man, who was told at the private hospital that his cholesterol was too high, has since improved.
Hemlall, who had been experiencing stomach problems, was admitted at the Mibicuri Hospital on July 18. However, he was placed in a ward with three females and he felt uncomfortable in the situation and made his feelings known to the hospital staff.
His brother-in-law, Vicky Ketwaru, said the health workers diagnosed Hemlall with “heart failure.”
On Friday July 20, the doctors transferred him to the New Amsterdam Hospital “without informing his wife but he called and told her.” Up to then, the man recalled, Hemlall was well enough to walk before being placed in a wheelchair and taken into the ambulance. He was admitted as a patient in the Intensive Care Unit but Ketwaru did not think his brother-in-law was properly taken care of. He felt that his condition deteriorated after he developed an infection “from the waist down” and was unable to walk.
Hemlall decided to tell his wife about the infection, when she visited. She in turn related this to the nurse on duty, who was annoyed that the man did not tell her directly.
According to Ketwaru, some of the nurses were hostile to the family and although Hemlall’s wife also tried to speak to the Cuban Internal Medicine Specialist who was attending to him, she was denied information about his condition. “She just told them that he was sick and that he was being taken care of… and that the results of the blood tests and ultrasound would be available,” he said.
Stabroek News spoke to a source at the New Amsterdam Hospital, who admitted that the results would sometimes take a long time to be out, especially since the man went there on a weekend. The source also said that if the catheter is not changed within a certain time the patient can develop an infection.
The source admitted that persons have complained before about the way the doctor as well as some of the nurses would speak to them.
Hemlall’s sister, Nalini told this newspaper that she too tried to find out from the doctor about her brother’s condition but she also encountered difficulty before pressing the doctor. “I asked her if they found a diagnosis for my brother and she said yes, he has a heart problem. I asked her if they had a specialist there and she said they did not,” she recalled. She asked if the doctor was willing to transfer him and she said yes but once he was stabilised.
An upset Nalini said she was surprised that the doctor who had told her that Hemlall’s condition was not stable called his wife and told her that he was discharged, after the Balwant Singh Hospital contacted the New Amsterdam Hospital and indicated that the ambulance was on the way. Nalini added that she was disappointed about the way everything happened and that the hospital “suddenly wanted to discharge him”.
According to Nalini, family members were already distressing over Hemlall’s condition and the treatment meted out to them made the situation worse. She said the staffers at both hospitals were “not humble and they cannot treat people like that.”
