The 13-year-old Good Hope, East Coast Demerara girl, who was hospitalised after suffering severe burns while straining rice, has been discharged and returned to the care of her parent, head of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) Ann Greene said yesterday.
The teen was burnt early in February while she was straining a pot rice and her parent was accused of depriving her of medical attention.
Greene had said that the burns suffered were not life threatening but the agency was investigating the case. She also stated that a child care assessment report revealed that there is dysfunctional issues in the girl’s family which needed to be addressed to ensure that the child is protected. The agency, therefore, signaled that it might have to look for alternative care for the child.
However, Greene stated yesterday that the child was returned to the care of her parent and the agency is helping the parent to address “some dysfunctional issues.” She added that the teen was not apprehensive about returning home.
The teenager was allegedly deprived of medical attention for two weeks after she was burnt. She suffered burns from her breasts down. After two weeks, a concerned resident brought the issue to the attention of the media and the child was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment.
The resident stated that the parents were drug-addicts and had refused to take the child to the hospital or to accept help from neighbours. The resident also indicated that the girl and two other children living in the home would not attend school.
