Relatives of an 18-year-old mother of two, who died almost five months ago as a result of injuries she sustained during a botched abortion, are outraged that the Medical Council of Guyana and Health Ministry haven’t intensified investigations following a protest calling on them to do so.
Karen Badal, of Lot 2 North Vigilance, East Coast Demerara, was four months pregnant when she died as a result of a perforated uterus and acute peritonitis on December 30, 2011.
Relatives said they have been cooperating with both bodies since they are anxious to see the doctor implicated brought to justice, which they say will prevent similar occurrences.
After observing the lengthy lapse, women’s rights activists last week protested in front of the Ministry of Health’s Brickdam office, where the Medical Council office is also housed. They strongly condemned both parties for the delay in the investigation, which they opined should have been completed already.
Badal’s mother-in-law, Paramdar Persaud, yesterday told Stabroek News that she expected more from both organizations especially following the protest but pointed out that more than two weeks after, neither the Health Ministry nor the Medical Council has contacted her and her family.
“I was expecting them to call and tell we something, but nothing. This government really slack because nobody ain’t bother to respond. This is the cowboy country Guyana. Nobody ain’t care about nobody,” the woman said.
Persaud further stated that it appears as though the life of poor people have no value.
According to the organizer of last week’s protest, Sherlina Nageer, the police have offered to work in collaboration with the Medical Council but that body has indicated that it is not interested.
Other protestors agreed that a list of licensed doctors should be accessible to the public in order to prevent such situations. “If they have a list of doctors they should publish it so people can become aware. If it’s on their (Medical Council) site, then not everyone can have access to a computer and also, not everyone can read to get this sort of information. They should publish it in the papers and on the television,” one woman opined.
Efforts made by Stabroek News to contact Chairman of the Medical Council, Dr Sheik Amir, proved futile. Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran was said to be out of the country and will be unavailable to comment until the end of this month.
