Frustrated relatives protest outside N/A Hospital; accuse officials of cover-up

Mar 23, 2021 News

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Death of mother and baby…

By Malisa Playter-Harry

Kaieteur News – Family members, including the parents, siblings and children, of Vanessa Lewis yesterday protested in front of the New Amsterdam Hospital, calling for justice to be served for the deaths of Lewis and her baby.
Lewis and her baby died following complications during surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the New Amsterdam Hospital, respectively, a few weeks ago. Lewis’ father, Eric Lewis, told reporters that he is convinced that the Regional Administration and Regional Health Services of Region Six are facilitating a cover-up into what took place at the hospital. While two nurses and a doctor were suspended, the family believes that such actions are not justice, since the medical professionals will be back on their jobs after the suspension. The grieving father stated that the family is also yet to receive his daughter’s belongings, including her cell phone, which he claims, has evidence that could facilitate an investigation for possible murder committed on the woman and her baby.
He stated that to date the family has not been able to confirm if indeed the health workers who attended to his daughter have been suspended. The father said too that although the Regional Chairman, David Armogan, and Regional Health Officer, Dr. Vishalya Sharma, had told them that the phone was found, they have since back paddled and indicated that the belongings were not located. The back and forth about the whereabouts of the belongings have spurred a police investigation, which is currently ongoing. The dead woman’s clinic card, family members said, has also been withheld from them.
The family also said that since the investigation was done at the hospital, no one from the investigating team has spoken to the relatives to provide them with information about the findings.
Lewis’ mother, Claris Cecil, said, “Dem people don’t want to come and tell us nothing about my daughter’s death and they don’t want to give up the phone. Sharma said she gonna give back everything and she called Mr. Khan and tell him to lock up the phone in she office and that she will give us back everything. She offer us money, $100,000, we don’t want money, we want back her stuff. Sharma is telling too much lies, we want justice.”
The family’s protest action yesterday caught the attention of Regional Chairman, David Armogan, who stopped and engaged with the dead woman’s parents. Speaking to the media, Armogan said that the relatives are understandably angry, “because they lost their daughter and they lost a grandchild too, and so the entire community is with them and they want answers and so we will have to be able to provide answers to them.” He further stated that because the relatives are requesting that someone from the investigating team engage them, “they deserve that answer and that is why they are there.”
When asked why the administration waited until a protest has taken place for them to decide that someone from the investigating team will speak with the relatives, Armogan said, “the administration took action, but I don’t know why they haven’t come to explain to the family…what I know is that action was taken and the doctor was sent back to Cuba, and two of the nurses that were working in that ward are on suspension pending further investigation.”
As it relates to Lewis’s belongings, Armogan stated that, “I don’t think they have it.” He, nevertheless, offered at the regional level to pay for the phone, but later learnt that the relatives wanted the woman’s phone, since they believe that it contains evidence that could help to provide answers as it relates to the deaths.
“What they are saying is that the phone has very important information which they need to take further action, because there has been some back and forth argument between the patient and one of the nurses…they want that evidence…”
The Regional Chairman said that he was at the family’s home when he received a call from RHO Sharma that the phone was found but subsequently when the relatives went to uplift the belongings, they were told it wasn’t.
“I am not saying all is well with the health system, there are difficulties with the health system presently and we are trying to rectify it. We recently formed the Mortality and Morbidity Committee, which means every mother and every child that dies at the hospital, there must be a report. The committee was in place years ago and is back in play,” said Armogan. He added, “The entire system of record keeping, and the protocols will now have to be followed. There was a breakdown in protocol and that is why we ended up in this situation.” Yesterday the relatives, armed with placards, called for the removal of the RHO and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Khan. Chants of “we need justice” rang through the air. In addition, in the protest line was the former Mayor of Rose Hall Town, Mr. Vijay Ramoo, who also believed that the administration and the medical professionals should be held accountable. He too believes that there is a “cover-up” afoot and noted that a mother and child were butchered to death.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the administration is quiet on the death of another infant at the hospital. The mother, who hails from Letterkenny Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was told that she delivered a stillborn baby, but the woman has since insisted that her baby was alive. Armogan was asked about that incident as well, but he claimed to be unaware that it even occurred despite it being reported in sections of the media.

 

 

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