(Jamaica Gleaner) The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) has acknowledged that the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) erred in not taking custody of an abandoned day-old baby, dubbed Baby Sunshine, and transporting her to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
The newborn was found last Wednesday morning in a shopping bag that had been left hanging on a fence in Vineyard Town, St Andrew.
The infant was found naked in the bloody bag with her umbilical cord still attached, surrounded by pieces of afterbirth, with ants swarming her body which was covered in bite marks.
Kingston contractor Oshane Briscoe, who made the heartbreaking discovery along with a female friend who wished to remain anonymous, in recounting his nerve-racking and emotional experience with The Sunday Gleaner, reported that the baby was initially taken to the Victoria Jubilee Hospi-tal but was not accepted.
According to Briscoe, he was informed that the hospital could not take the baby and he and his friend were advised to transport the infant to Bustamante.
However, he said healthcare workers cleaned the baby and detached her umbilical cord before handing her over to them.
However, Briscoe’s report about the hospital’s response has sparked wide-scale criticism from readers who have questioned the hospital’s duty of care to the infant and whether protocol was followed.
Dr Sandra Chambers, SERHA’s regional technical director, in responding to the criticism, said VJH would have made a mistake in not admitting and transporting the baby.
“Abandoned babies are kept at Bustamante but, once the baby arrives, even if we are sending him or her to Busta, we need to make sure the baby is stabilised,” Chambers said.
As it relates to the transportation of the infant, she said there were instances where the baby is taken to a hospital by the police, depending on the state of the child.
However, in this case, Chambers said: “Given the condition in which the baby arrived, the baby should have been transported. In fact, the baby should not even be sent to Bustamante at that stage, the baby should have been sorted out first, then transported.
“In essence, we would have to do the transfer, this is an abandoned child, we not going to give back an abandoned baby, that we don’t know who he or she belongs, to take to the hospital, it really should have been sorted,” she added.
Additionally, Chambers said: “The established protocol is to stabilise the patient; inform social worker, police and Child Protection and Family Ser-vices Agency (CPFSA).”
Briscoe, who has formed a deep attachment to the baby and is intent on adopting her, has been making daily visits to see the infant but has not been permitted.
“It is a case of abandonment under investigation and protocol dictates that contact be limited until the case has been properly investigated. Hospital protocol dictates that only parents are allowed to visit children and this is still under investigation.
“The baby is now a ward of the hospital and only persons from CPFSA and the police are authorised to visit,” she added.
At the same time, Errol Greene, regional director at SERHA, while echoing similar sentiments, said given the nature of the situation, the senior medical officer could decide whether to allow Briscoe to visit the baby.
Briscoe, who is anxious to get a glimpse of Baby Sunshine, had also reported that on one of his visits, a box of pampers which he had taken for the baby was not accepted.
Commenting on this, Chambers said: “We can only accept general donations that will be utilised for general patient care and not this specific child. This case is still under investigation. There are clear, strict protocols that govern what you can and cannot do at the hospital.”
Head of the Kingston East Division, Superinten-dent of Police Tommie-Lee Chambers, says there are still no leads into the identity of Baby Sunshine or any of the abandoned infant’s relatives.
Investigations are, however, ongoing.
In the meantime, Kings-ton contractor Oshane Briscoe, the father of two sons who discovered the baby, says he is researching the necessary steps it will take to adopt the child and gathering the relevant documents.
“Mi a try fi see waa mi can gwaan put together because tru mi know the process a go tek long mi waa put miself together,” he said.
At the same time, Briscoe said that even if his application is not accepted he is willing to be Baby Sunshine’s foster parent.
“Mi naa stop fight fi Sunshine, but mi main concern a just fi see har yah now,” he said.
In a statement Monday afternoon, SERHA said the baby, found last Wednes-day morning, is in the care of the Bustamante Hospital for Children and is in good condition.
Greene said: “We are not yet clear as to the identity of the baby or the parents of the baby; however, we are grateful that the baby was found by a good Samaritan.”
Greene added that the CPFSA was also made aware of the situation and is doing their investigations.
SERHA urged anyone with information that can assist the police in identifying the parents of the child to contact the nearest police station or call 119.
