Reported botched abortion in Berbice...Doctor’s fate likely in a few weeks - CMO

Reported botched abortion in Berbice…Doctor’s fate likely in a few weeks – CMO

Jul 08, 2015 News

Although the investigation into the death of 22-year-old Kamili Arjune is still on-going at the level of the Guyana Medical Council, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, expressed confidence that a final decision is imminent.
Arjune, a Suriname national, was pronounced dead last Good Friday after a reported botched abortion at a clinic in Port Mourant, Berbice.

Dead: Kamili Arjune

As CMO, Dr. Persaud is a de facto member of the Medical Council and according to him, “we are meeting in another couple of weeks.” The upcoming meeting, he disclosed, will represent a statutory council meeting which will deliberate finally on what would be the outcome of the Arjune case.
According to Dr. Persaud, if the culpable doctor is found guilty of malpractice, the Council could impose sanctions such as a letter of reprimand, suspension of licence (determined by both the Council and the Minister of Health) or he could be stricken off the Council’s list of doctors eligible to practice in Guyana.
Dr. Persaud had disclosed that among the breaches, is the fact that the doctor in question was not licenced to perform the abortion, neither was his private clinic certified to conduct the medical termination of pregnancy.
Another breach, he disclosed, was the fact that the doctor had not reported the woman’s death within the stipulated 24 hours.
The CMO had also told this publication that it is required by law that once a pregnancy-related death occurs, it should be reported to his office.
“Any woman who dies during any stage of pregnancy or up to 42 days after delivery, must be reported to the relevant authority (the CMO’s office),” said Dr. Persaud, as he related that it is expected that such deaths within Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10 must be reported within 24 hours. While those that occur in the hinterland regions, must be reported within 72 hours.
According to Dr. Persaud, he first learnt of the matter after it was reported in this newspaper.
He however noted that “there is due process where all involved are given a chance to both verbally and in writing respond to allegations that are made, but I think we will come up with our final decision shortly.”
The doctor under investigation had sent a response to the Ministry of Health regarding the accusation levelled against him through his lawyer. And Dr. Persaud expressed his hope that “we can come up with the best action.”
To facilitate the Medical Council’s investigation, the doctor in question was sent on administrative leave.
Although the incident occurred at the doctor’s private clinic, he is also a medical practitioner at a Berbice public health facility. Moreover the Berbice Regional Health Authority had made the decision to halt the doctor’s active duty in the public health sector.
“To send the doctor off on administrative leave is the limit of our jurisdiction,” said Dr. Persaud as he informed that the Medical Council has to adjudicate on any other practice licences.
Even as they await the outcome of the investigation, Dr. Persaud disclosed that he has remained in contact with the family of the deceased woman.
According to him, he has been working towards addressing the difficulty faced to acquire a death certificate.
The difficulty, the CMO said, is linked to the fact that because the pathologist who undertook the post mortem examination was unable to ascertain exactly what the cause of death was, a request for further examination of Arjune’s remains was made. But according to Dr. Persaud, “we are working on that right now to try to get the final death registration and have it submitted to the General Register Office, and help the family to acquire the necessary documentation that they would need.”