(Trinidad Guardian) “I was tortured at the hospital. I will never have another baby there again.” These were the words of Abbi Taylor Francis, whose newborn baby Jada died earlier this month at the San Fernando General Hospital after 11 hours of labour. Even though two weeks have passed, Taylor said she felt lost.
“It is hard to carry a baby for nine months and know my baby is healthy and to lose my baby because of the nurses in the hospital,” Francis said. Saying she has no more tears to cry, Francis called on the Minister of Health Dr Fuad Khan to launch an investigation. Her husband Jason Francis said the probe must be independent.
Jason said Khan contacted him and extended condolences. However, he called for all negligent nurses to be fired. “If you don’t want to do the job then leave and find something else to do. Do not make people’s lives miserable because you hate your job,” Jason declared. He said that chairman of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Dr Lackram Bodoe also contacted him and requested a detailed statement of Francis’ ordeal.
Jason said he planned to drop the statements today. He added that his lawyers have requested Francis’ medical file but have not received it to date. “I hope that the file does not go missing. I want them to get their act together,” Jason contended. Baby Jada died on February 2 and was buried three days later. Francis said when she went into labour she begged the nurses who were monitoring her in the delivery room to do something to make the delivery easier.
It was only when the nurses realised that the baby was not being delivered normally that a caesarean section was performed. The baby’s shoulder was dislocated during the process. Baby Jada weighed ten and a half pounds when she born and was kept in the Intensive Care Unit where she died. In a subsequent interview, Dr Bodoe said once a formal complaint is lodged it will be investigated by the Quality Department of the SWRHA. He said a report is forwarded to the board, following which he will make a statement.
