The relatives of Vanessa Lewis-Sahadeo yesterday handed over a recording they made of the Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr Vishalya Sharma to police in hopes that it will help them to find what happened to the now deceased woman’s phone.
Sharma can reportedly be heard in the recording telling an official at the New Amsterdam Hospital to place the now deceased woman’s phone into a drawer and that she would uplift same and deliver it to the family. However, after this was not done the family filed a police report at the New Amsterdam Police Station. Sharma has not been answering calls from Stabroek News.
Sahadeo’s uncle, Joseph Lewis, yesterday explained that the family was forced to hand over the recording after being informed that officials were claiming to police investigators that the phone was given to the dead woman’s relatives on the Friday that she was transferred from the hospital. “They said they give the phone to her sister on the Friday but that is not true,” the man declared.
Lewis-Sahadeo, 31, succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) in the wee hours of February 27th, after being transferred from the New Amsterdam hospital, where she had a stillbirth delivery.
An autopsy found that she died as a result of hypovolemic shock, abdominal and pelvic haemorrhage, lung distress, and brain edema with cerebellum herniation. In the post mortem report in one of the boxes which asks for “other significant conditions contributing to the death, but not related to the disease or condition causing it,” the doctor listed “recent surgery.”
The family suspects that Lewis-Sahadeo may have documented her experience at the New Amsterdam Hospital on the phone. A doctor and two nurses have been suspended after an investigation found negligence in the treatment of the woman.
Sahadeo’s mother, Claris Lewis, had said, that the RHO visited her home sometime last week and had said that she forgot to bring the phone. However, the mother claimed that the following day when they contacted her they were told that the health officials were unable to locate the phone. They also contacted the Regional Chairman, David Armogan, who informed that the phone was not located either. “She (Sharma) tell me how she go buy back one $100,000 phone and give we but we don’t want that… It’s not about the phone is what’s in the phone”, the mother had stated.
According to the family, they had recorded the RHO when she visited them and claimed she forgot to bring the phone with her. In the recording, the RHO can be heard ordering that the phone be placed in a drawer, where she would then uplift it from.
Commander of Region Six, Jairam Ramlakhan, yesterday confirmed that an investigation is ongoing, although he noted that they are working to ascertain the law when it comes to a patient’s property at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Joseph Lewis yesterday noted that the family is expected to meet with Minister of Home Affairs Robinson Benn today and they plan to discuss the possibility of investigators from Georgetown handling the matter.
However, he noted, that they are also giving room to the Berbice investigators to work but that they would feel more comfortable with investigators from Georgetown.
Lewis added that the new excuses surrounding the phone makes them even more suspicious about whether there is evidence in the phone.
The family had told Stabroek News that Lewis-Sahadeo had a previous issue with a nurse where some alleged threats were made during an exchange of words. The family had noted that screenshots of the alleged threats were in the phone.
Lewis-Sahadeo and her baby was laid to rest on Sunday at the Rose Hall Cemetery.
The uncle yesterday said that it was embarrassing to note that no one from the Regional Health Authority or Ministry of Health was present. “Only Dr. (Veerasammy) Ramayya has been with us. Even last night he was here. He even told us that he asked for the (medical) charts to be put in the report but they could not find it”, the uncle noted.
Further, the family is still awaiting an official report from authorities on the investigation. So far, they have only heard Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony announce that the investigation found some medical professionals negligent. He had said that one doctor and two nurses were suspended and that further actions would follow.
It is unclear whether this case has been reported by the ministry to the Medical Council of Guyana for disciplinary action.
