Tired of not getting any response from the regional health officials of Region Six on the death of her two children at the New Amsterdam Hospital, Rehana Persaud on Tuesday approached Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo at one of his outreaches in Berbice seeking answers.
The Canefield family lost two children days apart in April and have protested several times outside of the New Amsterdam Public Hospital calling for answers from the authorities over pathology tests.
Kumar Mohabeer, 33, of Canefield, East Canje Berbice, father of the children, Vishnu Mohabeer, also known as ‘Ricardo’, 10, and Arianna Mohabeer, 9, who died suddenly in April, had told this newspaper that despite their efforts to contact officials within the regional health authority they had not received any official word as to the cause of death of Arianna and the ongoing investigation.
The children’s mother, Rehana Persaud yesterday told Stabroek News that Jagdeo said he was extremely concerned about the situation and he immediately questioned Dr. Bob Ramnauth, CEO of the New Amsterdam Public Hospital as to why the family was not being updated.
“I go and meet him and when I talk on the mic he said let me wait he will meet with me privately and afterwards he did.”
Jagdeo was present in Region Six on Tuesday to meet with contractors and sports stakeholders in separate meetings.
According to Persaud, Dr. Ramnauth at the location informed both her and Jagdeo that he had received the tests results from both the labs in Guyana and in Miami, as such the family visited the hospital the following day to have the results handed over to them.
“When we go he say he only get the one from the Guyana lab and not the Miami lab and he tell Bharrat Jagdeo how he get the results from the Miami lab, how he get all two. He just give we the Guyana lab results, didn’t explain anything or so and we can barely understand how it write so now we have to get a doctor to try and understand it and explain it to us”, the woman relayed yesterday.
“This man (Dr. Ramnauth) … telling Bharrat Jagdeo he have both results from Guyana and from Miami, how long he get the results and he can’t give us. We saying if the results come so long then why you keeping back the results… This thing overbearing.”
She continued, “I feel really bad because the treatment is not nice of him to not explain what is on the results. We are not doctors and the writing we barely understand it. We need a doctor now to read it and explain to us.”
The woman stressed that she is still seeking justice for her children, “We still seeking for justice because I am not satisfied with that results. They hiding and keeping away the one at Miami. Why they not giving us that, they get something to hide.”
The children’s father had told Stabroek News that he had left for work and his son was lying on the bed. “The last word he tell me that he okay and before I reach Rose Hall I get the call that he take in and when I come before them reach hospital he pass away.”
A post-mortem examination carried out on Vishnu revealed that he died from splenomegaly (an enlarged spleen).
Following the death, the father said the boy’s sister developed a fever and she kept asking for her brother. As such they decided to take her to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. “She get scared and after she get lil fever we take her and them admit her and take her to the ward and the child was good. Monday morning the child come out and swing on a rocker, them have a rocker in the hospital back and the child come out and a play and then when them give she the injection the child never recovered back.”
According to the father, after being administered the injection which they were eventually told was an antibiotic, “…the child get weak, like the child start stunted there.”
He said they were initially told that Arianna had dengue fever and malaria, however after she passed away “them telling we something else that the child get some sick in she lungs that water go touch she heart.”
The father had also relayed that a post-mortem examination was carried out however the results were not immediately given to him. Additionally, he said that he was told that samples were taken from her body for testing.
