No Ambulance for Delicate Police Baby’s Birth; MoHW Investigates
Chester Williams
The Ministry of Health is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of a delicate child birth that took place in Orange Walk on Tuesday night in which the mother, a police officer, could not access ambulance services from home where the baby was born. Today, the Director of Hospital Services, Doctor Jorge Polanco said the Northern Regional Hospital had just dispatched the ambulance to another location based on a call for help, while Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told the media that it is understood that the ambulances are sometimes stretched thin.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We do understand the difficulty with ambulances at times. Again you’d know that most areas have one or two and sometimes they’re occupied elsewhere when they’re needed at a different location. So, it goes to show the versatility of the police and people do expect that whenever they’re having some difficulty, regardless of what it is, that the police should be able to assist. The officer was there, I would want to think and she saw the need and went into motion and did what she could have. I hope that the child and the mother are both okay.”
Jorge Polanco
Dr. Jorge Polanco, Director of Hospital Services
“The preliminary inquiry (information) is that at the same time that the call requesting an ambulance came, at that same time they were in the process of transferring another newborn to Belize City, to Karl Heusner. It was in that moment – making the decision how to move and where to move, who to give priority to – at the same time while they were doing that, police vehicle that was reported arrived with the mother and the newborn. I must add that they were managed, as per protocol for every delivery outside of the hospital setting. There is a protocol followed, so they were managed and up to this morning, they were both stable. But I must also mention that tomorrow I have scheduled a visit to the Northern Regional – that visit was scheduled for Friday but because of the incident we said let’s drop in tomorrow.”
