PHG administration to probe woman's death
--- relatives claim negligence
by Mark Ramotar and Michel Outridge
Guyana Chronicle
September 24, 2003
RELATIVES of 22-year-old Somatie Singh, called 'Kavita', of Enmore, East Coast Demerara, are questioning the circumstances surrounding the death of the young woman, who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Monday evening.
Angry relatives and friends and residents of Enmore are blaming the unfortunate death of Kavita on what they say is the negligence of two nurses at the hospital.
According to relatives of the deceased, Kavita was admitted as a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital around 4:00 hrs last Saturday morning. Eight hours later, she gave birth to a premature boy (seven months).
Up to press time, the baby was alive and in stable condition in an incubator at the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.
On Sunday, the young woman began having some problems with her breathing - something relatives said she suffered from since as a child.
It is understood that the young woman reported this to the doctors who carried out tests on her early Monday morning.
Based on the results on those tests, the doctors concluded that Kavita had a heart ailment. According to relatives, the doctors who carried out the test said it was "nothing too serious" and could be treated. It was later in the day, during the afternoon 'visiting hour' period (between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 pm on Monday) that relatives said 'things' started to unravel - for the worse!
Kavita's mother, Ms. Rajdai Sankar, called 'Baby', told this newspaper that during that visiting period, her daughter requested to urinate. Baby said she and other relatives who were visiting her daughter at the time requested a 'bed pan' for Kavita to 'relieve herself' in but was bluntly told by one of the two nurses in the ward at the time that it was not hospital policy for persons to use the 'bedpan' during visiting hours.
The very angry and distraught mother said they then requested a curtain, which was nearby, and the nurse said this, too, was against the rules. She said that after much pleading one of the nurses came and took the girl off the oxygen mask (it is understood that she was on both oxygen and saline). The very sick and frail young woman then had to walk to the bathroom with the assistance of the nurses and relatives. The grieving mother said whilst in the bathroom, her daughter fell down.
Baby also claimed that the nurse handled her daughter "very rough". She said, too, that as her daughter was in the process of being assisted to her feet she fell down and hit her head on the toilet seat.
Reports indicated that at this point, the young woman started to hyperventilate and began to get unconscious.
Baby said her husband, Ram Sankar, popularly called `Brown-Boy', could not take what was happening to his daughter any longer. So he intervened. He then took her from the washroom to her bed where relatives tried to put on the oxygen mask in a desperate attempt to get her back to consciousness. It, however, proved to be too late; the young woman succumbed.
"Dem kill me pickney; dem harass me pickney and kill she," the visibly shaken mother cried yesterday while speaking to this newspaper at her home in Enmore, where scores of residents had gathered to offer their sympathy, vent their frustrations and emotions or offer a word of advice on the way forward in dealing with this unfortunate tragedy.
"I'm very outraged at the inefficient, inhumane attitude of the medical staff; such attitudes are not healthy for the advancement of this country," one resident from Enmore lamented. "Whilst we are talking about having 'baby and people friendly' medical institutions, this incident runs counter to such pronouncements," the resident added.
When contacted, Director of Medical & Professional Services, Dr. Madan Rambarran, told the Chronicle that the young mother who was admitted to the Maternity Unit of the GPHC died as a result of "a heart condition". He said he is not aware that she died under "mysterious circumstances".
He related that the woman delivered a premature baby boy at the institution and is unaware of the other circumstances surrounding her death.
He acknowledged that relatives of the dead woman were (and are still) very outraged with the treatment and attitude of the nurses who were on duty.
Dr. Rambarran told the Guyana Chronicle that once the complaints are in written order they will be processed and an enquiry will be launched.
He disclosed that the relatives have since visited his office and he has assured them that the matter will be investigated to the fullest and corrective action will be taken.
Kavita was the eldest of three children for her parents. She was married on January 12 this year and left Enmore to live at her husband's home in Mahaicony Creek, East Coast Demerara, but would still visit her parents home in Enmore every month.
