A Crabwood Creek, Upper Corentyne family is seeking answers about the death of a four-month-old baby girl at the Skeldon Hospital on Friday last and the region says that an investigation is ongoing.
Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Vishalya Sharma, in a statement to the press, yesterday explained that the deceased child, Dana Samaroo, 4 months, two weeks old was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital at 11 am by her mother.
“The child was previously under the care of a private practitioner. The child upon arrival at our medical facility was assessed by the doctor on duty and was given initial treatment after which she was placed under observation. The family subsequently left without any further evaluation being done on the child. The child at no point in time was discharged from our care or given any vaccines.”
The statement added that at approximately 1 pm, the same day, the mother returned to the institution with the child in a worsened condition.
“The team on duty at the time performed CPR to no success. Initial reports suggested that the family after leaving the institution took the child to a religious leader. As a reminder, all deaths that occur at any of the health institutions across East Berbice, Corentyne are taken seriously and as such, all are investigated and reports submitted. This recent case involving the four month-old child is no different.”
The child’s grandmother, Kamlawattie Rodriguez, 38, of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, explain-ed that on Thursday after the child began vomiting and experiencing shortness of breath, they took her to the private clinic of a doctor attached to the Skeldon Hospital.
At the private location, the child was examined and given some medicine, “She (doctor) tell we the child okay and we take she home.”
However, on Friday morning after the child’s situation worsened the family decided to rush her to the Skeldon Public Hospital, where they claimed she was examined and given an injection at the location along with a prescription to receive medicine from the pharmacy.
According to the grandmother, they then left as they were told that the child was okay. “Them say she okay and we can go home but when we deh coming home I see the child getting more worse and as soon as we reach home I call back the car and we carry she back (to the) hospital.”
When they returned to the hospital they then met the doctor who they claimed had treated the child on Thursday at the private location “and we tell she wah happen and she say she got to give the child another injection and I tell her doctor them just give she one injection but she say them is doctors and know what they doing.”
She said that only the child’s mother, 18, was allowed to enter the room during the second injection while the grandparents were asked to wait outside.
However, it was just minutes after that the grandmother and other relatives present heard the child’s mother screaming. Initially, they made attempts to enter the room but were blocked by security personnel. Eventually, the grandmother forced her way into the room where she discovered that the child had succumbed. “Me daughter-in-law say as soon as she give the child the second injection the child die.”
The family said that they are in a state of confusion as they are now hearing claims that no injection was administered. As such they are calling on the authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly.
The child’s body is presently at the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination which is expected to be done today, the Regional Health Services noted yesterday.
According to the grandmother, the parents of the child are in shock as Dana was their first child. The grandmother said yesterday, “We care this child, is their first child, we care her so good”, while the grandfather added, “We need justice for this, we need justice.”
