A committee has been set up to investigate the death of 28-year-old Basmattie Balkarran, who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Saturday after allegedly being left there for hours without receiving any medical attention.
A press release from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) last evening said that it views with “deep concern”, the article headlined ‘Patient dies at Georgetown Hospital after left unattended for hours’, in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek.
The article had reported on the death of Balkarran, who had been deemed an emergency case and rushed to the GPHC from the Leonora Cottage Hospital earlier in the day but passed away after she allegedly did not receive medical attention from the staff on duty.
“The GPHC is fully committed to finding out exactly what happened when the patient was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit and has set up a committee comprising the Sister in charge of the Accident and Emergency unit and the Assistant Director of Nursing, among others to fully investigate the matter”, the release asserted.
Relatives had told this newspaper that Balkarran had been rushed to Georgetown and arrived at the GPHC at 10 am, but had not been attended to until they started complaining and pleading with the nurses to take her into the emergency room some time after 4 pm. The woman died around 6 pm on Saturday.
When contacted for comment on the incident on Saturday, GPHC CEO Michael Khan told Stabroek News that he visited the emergency room that afternoon and heard the complaints by the woman’s relatives and had instructed a nurse to take the woman into the emergency room. However, Khan said, by the time the doctor went to look at the patient he found her gasping and she subsequently died. Khan had said he could not comment further on the matter.
A post-mortem examination will be performed on Wednesday and a report will be issued on Friday, the GPHC statement said.
