Relatives to take legal action against New Amsterdam Hospital after woman, unborn baby die

Mar 02, 2021 News

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By Malisa Player-Harry
Kaieteur News– The New Amsterdam Hospital has once again come under fire after a woman and her baby died following a transfer from the institution to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC). Relatives have criticized the institution and the medical staff who attended to the pregnant woman, while noting their firm belief that some form of negligence must have taken place on the part of the hospital.
Dead is Vanessa Sahadeo, 32, of Lot 19, 3rd Street Williamsburg and her stillborn baby. At the home of the deceased, relatives had gathered and her parents were still reeling from the shock that their daughter and grandchild are no more. Her grieving mother, Clarice Cecil, relayed to the media that her daughter was strong and healthy with no complications when she got admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital on Monday. She stated that prior to her admission, she had visited the clinic and the nurses had informed her that she was due to deliver at any time. She stated that from the time her daughter was admitted on Monday, they visited her every day and recalled her daughter being normal while adding that she seemed to have no complications because she was walking about, talking, and eating like she usually was.

On February 26, 2021, Sahadeo spoke with her mother on the phone and indicated that she was about to be taken into the labour room to be given drips (Saline). She had stated that the doctors and nurses checked her daughter and her pressure was normal. Sahadeo was experiencing low pressure when she was admitted but the doctors had given Cecil a prescription to purchase the medication for Sahadeo to use. Cecil said the last conversation she had with her daughter was Friday morning and she was talking about celebrating her birthday and nine day. Cecil said after she hung up, she began preparing lunch to take for her daughter but she was not feeling well and so she sent her other daughter.
At just around 14:00 hrs, Cecil said she received a call from a nurse at the New Amsterdam Hospital and was told that her daughter delivered her baby, but that the new born was dead. She was also told that they had to remove her daughter’s womb. The grieving mother said her stomach sank as she tried to digest the unexpected news. While she was about to ask what really happened, the call ended. Worry filled her soul and she called the hospital. Kaieteur News understands that at this point, the mother got onto a nurse. Upon making several inquiries, she was told by the nurse that her daughter “got to go to the Georgetown Hospital”. She immediately informed her husband and he broke down in tears. They got dressed and headed over to the medical facility.
“When me go New Amsterdam dem say demna allow two persons to go in so me run go in and she deh in front the door on the stretcher but me na see she face and me start holler and when me go now me feel she hand and she hand cold, cold and demna tell me what happen. Me go bring me husband and tell he like ‘Vene’ dead and he come and start holler ‘me daughter dead’. Then a fine nurse now come and tell me she na dead and that dem got to give she blood”. However, that too became an issue after the nurse indicated that the hospital was without blood.
“My husband tell dem he does give blood at the hospital and ayuhna get a pint blood to give me daughter. He tell dem he go give dem blood and dem tell he dem can’t give she blood just like that, dem got to clean the blood”, the woman said. She added that she was then told that an ambulance had to take her daughter to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but the ambulance took someone else. They were left with no choice but to sit in their anguish as time went by.
“We deh down there till after five going on to six then the ambulance come and dem put she inside and the doctor go in the front seat and then dem put the ting on she and start pump on she again then me husband ask if he can’t go with the ambulance and they told him no”, she said.

It was a whirlwind of emotions but the family contacted an uncle of Sahadeo who lives in Georgetown. He told them that he will take care of things when Sahadeo arrived at GPHC. The grieving mother of the dead woman said she was told that “dem damage up she, dem tek out she womb, dem clamp the baby on she head and tek out the baby and pull out the womb. When dem do that now she start bleed and dem can’t control the bleeding, they run she in theatre.”
Speaking to the uncle of the deceased woman and her baby, Joseph Lewis, he stated that when Sahadeo arrived at GPHC a team of doctors were waiting to take control of his niece. He said they immediately began to administer blood and oxygen to her and during that time one of the doctors spoke with him.
“They said that she was more than 90% wasted and they had given her 5% chance at that time to live. Then they went into the theatre and they asked me to wait, I waited outside after a few hours and then they called me, and I saw the lead consultant, a Portuguese doctor and he updated me on what happened”, Lewis said.
He explained that the doctor informed him that when his niece was admitted, based on the information on her chart, her pressure was high and that the pressure kept spiking. He said the doctor disclosed that “the pressure increase and it resulted in two things, it ruptured her brain and it ruptured the cord attaching the baby to the mother; that triggered a bleeding and they (at New Amsterdam Hospital) decided to do a C-section, the C-section increased the bleeding.” He was told that, it was that the baby already died and the doctors at NA Hospital decided to save the life of his niece by removing the womb.
“That didn’t help, and fluid started to flood the chamber and the bleeding increased so they pad it up, clamp it and put a tube in her to drain her, ventilate her and ship her away to Georgetown like a butchered cow”, he said. It was until 03:00 hrs. yesterday morning that he received the call that she had died in the Intensive Care Unit of GPHC.
Lewis praised the Georgetown Hospital for their efforts in trying to save the life of his niece but chastised the New Amsterdam Hospital for the way they handled her.
“They were very professional, doctors and the medical staff of GPHC must be commended, they did a wonderful job there and they treated us like human beings, but we can’t say the same for New Amsterdam Hospital. That administrator there is arrogant. She treated us like animals and as if we had no right to be there”, he said.
Lewis said that something must be done about the hospital and the way it is run. He opined that “the entire medical team led by the corrupt administration must be replaced, especially the gynaecologist them, they abandon you. When you take food, they tell you leave it by the door so it’s like when you got tiger and you go to the zoo and you leave it there and you walk away and so you don’t know whether your family eat or not. They don’t update you nothing, when you call them they behave as if it is not your place to call them, they treat you with arrogance and total disrespect and if the powers that be don’t treat this as a serious issue not only for that child that died there but for Guyanese women on the whole. You will have more like this, you will have murder and they keep covering it up”.
The family is calling on the Government of Guyana to “take full responsibility” for what took place. Joseph Lewis has since indicated that they will be looking to have a private autopsy done along with a DNA test for the baby. He has also signalled their intention to take legal action against the New Amsterdam Hospital. Meanwhile, the mother of the dead woman also disclosed that her daughter’s belongings were left at New Amsterdam Hospital and her cellphone along with approximately $20,000 and one side gold earring are missing. She said that Sahadeo had $30,000 in her bag and only saw $10,000 when the bag was handed over by nurses.
Calls to the Regional Health Officer Dr. Vishalya Sharma went unanswered. However, Kaieteur News was informed that a probe has been launched.
Vanessa Sahadeo leaves to mourn her three children ages six, nine and 11 along with other relatives.

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