An Open Letter to the New Minister of Public Health

Jun 05, 2015 Letters

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Dear Editor,
You have my sincerest gratitude for providing me with the opportunity to pen my letter to the new Minister of Public Health. Earlier during the course of last week The Honourable Dr. Norton had made mention that he will ensure that justice be served to mothers who had lost their babies by malpractice and negligence of healthcare professionals.
However, from my perspective, every second that passes by another mother and child are placed at risk; which begs the question, should we just sit and allow those acts of malpractice and negligence to continue with no degree of sanctions taken against those responsible?
Please allow me to bring to the forefront two cases where there is clear evidence of negligence.  I am strongly convinced that an immediate investigation should commence and have those responsible sanctioned accordingly.
Firstly, the case of Teresa Lalltoo, the 30 year old mother of one, who lost her expectant second child after what were described to be bad calls made by both doctors and nurses. After coursing through a full term of pregnancy, Teresa was overjoyed at the fact that all was well with her child but little did she know that the same persons she put her trust in would cause her a great tragedy. She was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital after experiencing severe pain and seen by nurses who were hesitant in providing her with care.
This escalated throughout the course of her stay at said hospital when not only was she given oxytocin drips with full knowledge of a lack of theatre staff, should there be a worst case scenario, but her water bag was clipped without the consent of any physician. It was apparent also that while having all of this done, one of the doctors had denoted his interest in her condition, even up to the point in calling it an “experiment” because she was not experiencing pains even when on the drips.
Clipping her water bag marked the beginning of the greater problems since the umbilical cord presented itself first, getting lodged in the vagina causing a cord prolapse leading to a diminished supply of blood to her baby. Noting this emergency, and knowing well that there was a lack of theatre staff on such a day at what was supposed to be a premier health institution, the doctors were still hesitant in transferring her to the main referral hospital, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. It was not until her unborn baby was in a dire state that they made the choice to have her transferred, but by the time she arrived, it was too late.
Her baby had succumbed due to an inadequate supply of blood. Her tragedy did not end there as she was then put in a position where she had to give birth to a dead baby; followed by being placed on a ward full of happy mothers who were successful in giving birth as well as having to share a bed with another mother. This had dire psychological effects on her, yet still no investigation was done to have those responsible brought to justice.
Secondly, it is indeed sad how the previous administration has failed Natalie Caseley, who continues to fight for justice for her four year old son, Jaden Mars, who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) over one year ago.
The toddler was merely taken to the hospital for a few stitches after biting his tongue during a fall but died shortly after spending a total of six days on life support. For such a simple case, death should not have been the outcome causing Caseley to strongly believe that her son may have been overdosed or the right procedures may not have been undertaken. Casely has subsequently been campaigning against those responsible for her child’s death, constantly reiterating the prevalence of negligence by the health sector which are being overlooked on too many occasions.
I have campaigned with both Teresa Lalltoo and Natalie Caseley through social media and picketing exercises from which I can conclude that these mothers are determined and eager for justice to be served in a most timely manner. Both parties had submitted written reports to the Chief Medical Officer however, the excuse was always that reports were not submitted by either hospital or that the issue was still being investigated. This inefficiency is inexcusable especially when dealing with human lives. Furthermore, we can question whether Dr. Shamdeo Persaud is the most appropriate person to be titled the CMO and assigned the duties of investigating cases of these natures. To add, it is just to ask, under his tenure and that of the previous administration, has any case of negligence or malpractice been brought to fruition?
In closing, I wish to acknowledge Kaieteur News and Stabroek News for channeling these cases through their various news reports and being at the forefront in publicizing them. Also, thank you in advance to the Honourable Minister of Public Health and his team for picking these cases up and working assiduously to allow justice to prevail.
Dave Lalltoo

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