West Dem hospital accused of negligence over death of newborn

A Nismes, West Bank Demerara woman is accusing doctors and nurses of the West Demerara Regional Hospital of negligence over the death of her newborn baby boy on Saturday night at the hospital.

The woman, who already has three children ages 12 to 17, said she was on the floor of the hospital crying out in pain for a long time but was not attended to by the nurses.

“When some patients went to the nurse dem room and tell dem Miss Scott on the floor crying out in pain and like deh baby coming, some ah dem sleeping and some on dem phone and nobody ain’t come,” Christina Scott, 37, of Nismes, West Bank Demerara, told Stabroek News yesterday.

Stabroek News made contact with the Medical Superintendent of the hospital who gave her name as Dr Duncan and she said that she was unaware of the baby’s death. She said that she would have to make contact with the matron and the Regional Health Officer before she could give a comment. She promised to return a call but this did not occur and further efforts to contact her were futile as this newspaper was told that she was in a meeting.

Sharing her experience, hours after she was discharged from the hospital, Scott said at one point, the pain was so excruciating that she almost passed out before a doctor came to her and led her to the bed, by which time she felt the baby’s head emerging.

“Dr Johnson come and tek me hand and lead me to the bed and tell me spread the plastic and lie down and put up me foot and push. They had another doctor name Dr Young there and after dem tell me push, I push and the baby come out but I see dem tek the baby and move fast with he behind the curtain but like I pass out,” the grieving mother said via phone.

According to Scott, when she saw her son, whom she named Elijah Persaud, his head was out of shape.

“He forehead had like a dent and the back was like mash in and I see clot blood. … I have pictures of how he head shape,” the grieving woman said.

After her baby died, Scott was inconsolable and the doctors were unable to provide any real answers. One of the doctors, Dr Young, came to her bedside and told her he was sorry for what happened, she related.

Scott was asked at the hospital if she was satisfied with what happened but the woman said she did not say much as she was in tears most of the time. However, she said that she was waiting for her sister who would assist her to take the next step. She was told that she has “to do what I have to do.”

The grieving mother called on the hospital to conduct an investigation as she wants answers for her baby’s death. She and her reputed husband, Chetram Persaud, plan to have a funeral for their newborn son.