Dear Editor,
The recent story of the tragic death of 24-year-old Devi Samaroo and her newborn at the New Amsterdam Hospital in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) warrants an intense and urgent investigation. As if the two deaths were not bad enough, the stories coming from the family of the shoddiest treatment, the hospital staff’s refusal to give information on the whereabouts of mother and her baby, refusal to disclose the names of the doctors/nurses, poor treatment of the mother’s dead body – that was not the shining moment for the New Amsterdam Hospital, where several mothers and babies have died over the years. It’s an indictment of our primitive public health systems. Recently, the Minister of Health has been talking about “smart” hospitals. It does not appear that Port Mourant Hospital where Ms. Samaroo first visited is ‘smart,’ nor it does not seem that the New Amsterdam Hospital is ‘smart.’ But we cannot allow these ‘dumb’ hospitals to kill our people, and there is no accountability.
In the old days, mothers gave birth at home and the people did not die the way New Amsterdam Hospital has a high mortality rate. So why are we going to a hospital that has medical personnel and facilities and someone doesn’t come out alive? It did not appear that the pregnancy was difficult or problematic so when your loved one dies, it is unexpected, shocking, and traumatic. The ministry must investigate and deal with the family’s claims of negligence and cover-up. This family must get justice, as well as the others that lost loved ones! Autopsies later said that the baby girl died as a result of a hole in her heart and the mother died from shock and blood clot in the lungs. So if the baby has a hole in the heart, was that not detected during the pre-natal visits? If the mother died from shock and blood clot in the lungs, when did that happen? Was that detected when she went to the Port Mou-rant Hospital? Who were the attending doctor(s) and nurses? The way the parents were kept in the dark and were denied information, the family’s claim they were not allowed to be present at the autopsy, all seem suspicious. Why? Is it not a usual practice to have a family member present? Was that an attempt at a cover up?
The Ministry must develop a Patients/ Family Bill of Rights going forward. Hospitals and their personnel must be held accountable for unprofessional behavior, medical negligence and malfeasance, neglect of duty, etc. Public hospitals must care about their customer service and their image. The public must not think that public hospitals are inefficient, incompetent and associated with mediocrity in service, including ‘hoggish’ staff. These public institutions cannot afford to fail because the masses who cannot afford private services depend on them. Social media is abuzz with criticisms of our health services. What happened to Devi Samaroo and her baby is simply unacceptable! The family wants justice!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
