Dear Editor,
‘No woman should die while giving life,’ – UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. In the capacity of a retired charge nurse and midwife I must confess that the reading of yet another maternal mortality in Guyana did evoke spontaneous activation of my lachrymal sacs. Any maternal death is a tragedy, and a preventable maternal death is an outrage. Although there has been health advances in recent years, in Guyana far too many women still die in childbirth or from complications related to pregnancy. Most of these deaths are preventable. The prevalence of maternal deaths in Guyana is a public health crisis that demands urgent attention and action from all of us. There is no reason why a country that is poised towards increasing oil-based wealth should have a rising mortality rate—and yet that is the reality the country currently faces.
In an interview in 2019 at Woodlands Hospital, Dr. Neville Gobin, Head of Guyana’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, expressed his confidence, that the MMR Committee could reduce maternal mortality to near-zero by strengthening and improving the competence of medical staff nationwide, by sharpening their ability to spot and manage complications early in pregnancies. According to the Committee Head maternal deaths are linked to three issues, namely, fault of the care providers, fault of the health care system and fault of the patient. However, based on the recent tragic demise of yet another pregnant female, the question that readily springs to mind is, are the doctors in Guyana, especially those in obstetrics in need of further training or instant draining? The recent death of Vanessa Sahadeo, following the death of her still born baby is both lamentable and preventable.
Despite having delivered since Friday and enshrouded in maternal grief, she was then forced to endure a lengthy delay awaiting an ambulance to transport her to the Georgetown Hospital. Was there a trained team of both nurses and doctors accompanying this patient to PHG? Was the vehicle adequately equipped for both the journey and the likely development of possible complications? What special care would PHG be providing that the New Amsterdam hospital lacked? The physicians and the entire obstetrical and nursing team should focus on the emotional needs of the patient, especially when addressing maternal and neonatal medical requirements after an adverse birth outcome. Now being called into question is the degree of professionalism of the doctors involved in the management of this hapless patient. Very little mention is made of their played role given that the patient was not only high risk from an obstetrical viewpoint, but also from a surgical stance having undergone a hysterectomy (removal of uterus).
It is further stated that no blood was available for transfusing the deceased. Honestly? Did the surgeons performing such a life-endangering/threatening procedure, not establish beforehand both the haemoglobin and coagulation levels, and above all ensure the availability of adequate units of blood in case of further emergencies? The government has created a crisis in healthcare through years of utter neglect and gross mismanagement of the healthcare system. If you want to know how strong a country’s health system is, then the answer is found in looking at the well-being of its mothers. The time has come for all of us to demand changes, changes to ensure that maternity does not mean mortality. The current state of affairs did not happen overnight. It is the result of years of complete and utter neglect and gross mismanagement of the healthcare system.
Every Review Committee once in the door, vow that they will do better than the ones before. Yet, mothers die while they lie. The incompetency of adherents of the Hippocratic Oath forces maternal wombs to morph into neonatal tombs. The call has been sounded for the prime minister, minister of health, the medical and nursing boards and all health and community organization to galvanize and work towards effecting a lasting and visible change – an immediate halt to the senseless loss of maternal lives, which only serves to highlight Guyana as a veritable Third World country. The start of a noteworthy change could be immediate competency evaluation of the obstetrical and nursing staff. Aleuta continua—the struggle continues
Sincerely,
Y. Sam
