The family of Rashanna Dindyal, 31, who along with her unborn child, died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) on October 20 are still concerned that they have not yet received an official post-mortem report are asking the government to intervene.
The dead woman’s aunt, Sharon Dindyal, told Stabroek News yesterday that her family is yet to hear from the hospital as to what really happened in the death of Rashanna. She said they only heard on the news that the death was caused by cardiac arrest, the patient’s neglect to visit the pre-natal clinic, and that Rashanna smoked during her pregnancy.
According to Sharon, Rashanna visited her clinic about two times, and that she indeed smoked during her pregnancy, but the family is nevertheless adamant that the hospital is hiding the truth as to what really transpired on the day Rashanna went to the bathroom unattended, fell and hit her head on the floor. Sharon said the family was told they will receive Rashanna ‘s death certificate on December 24.
According to Rashanna’s mother, Shairma Dindyal, on Wednesday, October 19th, her daughter was rushed to the hospital after she began experiencing labour pains; she was admited around 3 am. Around 7 am that morning, Rashanna called her and said, ”Mommy I’m 4 cm dilated, and I will call you [later] because the hospital don’t have any internet.” The mother said that she was positive that her daughter was in good condition. Around 10 am on Thursday, 20th October she received a call from the GPHC saying her daughter was in a critical condition and she should go to the hospital immediately. When she arrived, she was asked to sit downstairs where she was initially told by a doctor that Rashanna’s heart rate and blood count were low. Up to that point, the doctor told her nothing abut her daughter falling.
According to Shairma, the doctor told her that her daughter “can’t make it”. She tried questioning the doctor, but got no response. She was, however, told to wait outside. While waiting for four hours without updates on her daugher’s condition, she said someone at the hospital told her that her daughter had collapsed on her way to the bathroom on Wednesday around 8 am and suffered major injuries. Shairma said that she persisted in waiting, hoping for updates on her daughter’s condition from the doctor. After an even longer period of waiting, she said she saw her daughter being rolled out on a stretcher with a lot of wires connected to her nose, chest and mouth. Her daughter was being taken to the ICU. A long time after, she said that a doctor from the ICU came out and told her that her daughter had collapsed, that a vesel had burst in her head and she had passed away.
Shairma said that her daughter leaves behind two boys, ages 3 and 7. She said that she is seeking the government’s assistance for her grandchildren and wants the government to investigate her daughter’s demise at the GPHC. The mother added that she was told by the doctor to come back in eight weeks for Rashanna’s death certificate.
