The Ministry of Public Health is monitoring the condition of Thelma Robeiro, the Rupununi woman who was left in a vegetative state following a surgery for gallstones at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) earlier this year.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr Karen Cummings met with the woman’s immediate family in Lethem recently. The minister told Stabroek News on Saturday that the Ministry is continuously monitoring the situation. She said Robeiro has been receiving treatment as per the standard treatment guidelines.
A resident of Shulinab Village, South–Central Rupununi, 48-year old Robeiro was diagnosed with gallstones during a medical outreach in Region Nine. The diagnosis prompted the woman to undergo surgery, which was reportedly done at the Lethem Regional Hospital on April 10.
However, the procedure was unsuccessful, which resulted in the woman being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) for treatment.
Stabroek News was told that it was after coming out of surgery at the GPH that the woman’s condition suddenly began to deteriorate. It was further related that while Robeiro’s doctor said the surgery was successful, he told other relatives that he suspected that she suffered a heart attack after the surgery and it went unnoticed by nurses at the hospital. He attributed the woman’s current condition to this occurrence.
Robeiro was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the GPH, where she spent more than a month before being transferred back to the female ward and eventually back to the Lethem Regional Hospital, where she remains.
One relative told Stabroek News on Saturday that the family is frustrated over what they feel are attempts to dodge their questions about the circumstances that led to the woman’s current state. The relative, who requested anonymity, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to discuss with the Minister and her team, Robeiro’s current medical situation.
He explained that it was at the meeting that family members were informed that Robeiro had suffered brain damage as well as a collapsed right lung which may have contributed to her being reduced to her current vegetative state.
However, he pointed out that the Minister opted out of divulging specific information regarding the possible factors that could have contributed to Robeiro’s present state. As a result, the family is left to fit the pieces of information together.
“The Minister within the Ministry told us that she don’t want to get into details about what happened to Thelma Robeiro at the hospital after the surgery.
We were told that she suffered brain damage but how does this happen when she was doing surgery for a simple gallstone,” he questioned. “It is hard for us to accept that she is left like this…it is like lifelong punishment because she is just lying on the bed at the hospital with minimum care and attention being given to Robeiro and her family,” he added.
Additionally, the relative said, before the family was able to ask about financial assistance for Robeiro’s care, the meeting was cut short in order to facilitate other visits by the Minister.
“What was a surprise to us was that they sought to meet with us, then all of a sudden they rush to finish the meeting without the family’s questions being properly addressed. We had planned on asking them for some assistance or compensation for the family because when she left here, she left in a healthy state despite her having gallstones,” the relative said.
He went on to explain that since Robeiro’s surgery, her husband who suffers from hypertension, became stressed by the situation and consequently fell ill and was unable to maintain his means of employment.
“We are still concerned that nothing is being done, nothing is being given to the family in terms of compensation; her family needs the assistance so that they can care for her and stuff. It’s hard for us knowing her husband is not working; her family is not wealthy either,” he lamented. He noted that Cummings had turned to Regional Executive Officer Carl Parker, who was also present at the meeting, requesting that he seek avenues within the region through which some assistance could be offered to the family.
The relative related that Parker responded with a promise to contact the organisations he works along with, to request assistance for the family.
Meantime, the relative highlighted what he said was an improvement in the medical services provided to Robeiro at the Lethem hospital. However, he expressed fear that the improvement will be short-lived.
“It is only when we are visiting her (Robeiro) that we see that she’s being attended to, but the minute we turn our backs, we are going to hear that she was left unattended,” he said.
Sharing personal observations made regarding the woman’s weight, the relative is convinced that the nurses are not properly feeding Robeiro. Other relatives believe the same.
“Even though we have been assured by the doctor that she will be properly fed and her food be prepared at the hospital’s kitchen, there are times where we would have visited her and would find food that was prepared for her at breakfast and when we visit back at midday time, we find the same meal; when we visit back in the afternoon, we find the same food again. This is proof that she is not being fed,” he said.
A mother to seven children, most of whom live in neighbouring Brazil, Robeiro is currently being cared for by her youngest daughter and teenaged son, with assistance from other family members.
