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Father dissatisfied with response to queries after infant’s ‘sudden’ death at hospital
– Medical institution insists right procedure was followed
Dirk Liverpool
A father is displeased with what he claims is the sudden death of his seven-month-old daughter at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Wednesday last, and the subsequent indifference by the institution to his queries.
The man, Dirk Liverpool, of 1079 ‘A’ Field , Sophia, Cummings Park, told Kaieteur News yesterday that just before 09:00 hrs on Wednesday last, he took the infant, Cleo Liverpool, to the GPHC as she was vomiting and had difficulty breathing. He related that less than 24 hours later, the doctors pronounced his daughter dead.
According to Liverpool, he was not given an official explanation by the attending doctor as to how his daughter died, and he is not satisfied with the kind of treatment he received from officials at the medical institution.
He said that when he took his daughter to the hospital, the doctors took an X-ray and diagnosed that the baby was suffering from a heart condition. However, he claims than when he asked to see the X-ray, the doctors refused to show it to him.
“When I tek meh baby deh (GPHC), the doctor push a needle in she neck and he tell meh dat he looking for a vein to give she medication,” the man recounted.
He explained that an oxygen mask was placed over her face and her hands were restrained as she tried to remove it.
“Dem tie down meh baby like Jesus Christ,” Liverpool told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, when contacted for a comment on the issue yesterday, the Public Relations Department of the GPHC in an official statement said that the baby was taken to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital by her mother, Iona O’Neal at 08:50hrs and was seen by the Triage Nurse at 08:52hrs.
According to the statement, the child’s mother explained that the baby had difficulty breathing due to a cold.
“The doctors in the A&E Unit initially diagnosed the child with Respiratory Distress due to Meningitis and Sepsis and stated that she was in a critical state. The child was admitted to the Paediatric Unit at 01:10hrs and was seen by Dr. Aaron, who reported that Liverpool was under close watch because of the condition for which she was admitted,” the statement explained.
It also added that Dr. Aaron reported that both parents were advised by the Paediatric Consultant, Dr. Zamara, around 14:00hrs, as to the condition of the child, who at that time was diagnosed with Congenital Cyanotic Heart Disease.
According to the statement, the child’s mother left the hospital some time after 20:00hrs to return with pampers for the child, and shortly after the child died (21:00hrs).
The mother returned subsequently and was advised that the child had died.
“Dr. Aaron reported that there was a collaborative effort to save the child’s life, but the prolonged complications from which she suffered led to her demise.”
The Public Relation Department is also claiming that the child’s father, approached the nurses and the doctor in the Paediatric Ward in an aggressive manner and demanded to see the results of an X-ray that was done and the cause of the child’s death.
According to the statement, at the time, the doctor was doing ‘rounds’ and as such, could not entertain the parent at the same time.
“It was reported that Mr. Liverpool was not satisfied with the response that was given to him nor was he willing to wait for the doctor to complete her rounds, and he stormed into the ward and became very abusive (verbally) towards the nurse and doctor, using very threatening language. The nurses were then forced to alert security for fear that the man may become physically abusive. He reportedly threatened the nurses to return and “do what he has to if he doesn’t get answers for his child’s death,” the statement added.
The statement also added that it is not the hospital’s policy to reveal X-rays to relatives, but only to explain what the results may be.
According the Public Relations Department, this is the case, because of the complex nature of the X-ray which cannot be accurately read by untrained individuals.
The release also stated that Mr. Liverpool visited the GPHC’s mortuary to view the post mortem examination.
However, he arrived late and was advised to return next Monday (August 24).
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