Western Regional gives wrong bodies to grieving mothers
Earlier in the newscast, you heard the Pan American Health Organization’s report on the K.H.M.H., and it did not speak well of the nation’s referral hospital. The Western Regional Hospital is also facing an inquiry that some are alleging is incompetence. A mother loses her offspring during labor and to add to the pain, the dead fetus was given to another family for burial.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The series of unfortunate events for twenty-three Shajida Muschamp Guy started at around six p.m. last Monday, June seventeenth. One week past-due, she went into labor and was taken to the Western Regional Hospital in the Capital. She was sent back home and by eleven o’clock when she returned to the hospital, her baby was said to have died inside her womb.
Via Phone: Orlando Muschamp, Grandfather of Baby Angelie
Orlando Muschamp
“She was checked by a nurse and she said the nurse told her she was only once centimeter open and she needed to go back home and come back when she had more pain. And she was sent back home by the nurse and when she came back, there was a doctor to check her. And the doctor checked her out and saw that the baby had no respiration; the baby was not breathing no more. And after examination, he told her that she may have lost her baby; the baby was already dead. This was around eleven o’clock on Monday night.”
A stressed baby Angelie had defecated within her mother and swallowed the stool which ultimately caused her death. But it wasn’t until three hours after that a c-section was performed on Guy to remove her lifeless baby.
Merta Rudon, Grand-Aunt of Baby Angelie
“When they took her eleven o’clock to the hospital, they found out that the nurses were not hearing heartbeat. So they called the doctors and they checked and there wasn’t any heartbeat. Apparently they left her there until they decided what they were going to do. This happened from eleven o’clock they found out there was no heartbeat. Six o’clock, the heartbeat was very strong; eleven o’clock, no heartbeat. They decided that she needed to get cut; that happened like two o’clock in the morning…from eleven to two; negligence of the hospital.”
Via Phone: Orlando Muschamp
“What was most important for us as parents was to have her get over her cesarean so we had asked the administration to please allow us to have the body for funeral until later in the week; that we would do it for Saturday. They all agreed.”
But to add insult to injury, according to baby Angelie’s grandfather, Orlando Muschamp, the baby’s body was given away to another parent who he claims had given birth to a four to five month old fetus.
Merta Rudon
Via Phone: Orlando Muschamp
“We built a tomb and we had already gotten a casket for the funeral services to be held on Saturday at one o’clock in the afternoon. So I went to the morgue at ten-thirty with the box. When arriving there at the morgue, I saw the morgue was all dilapidated. The doors were not hung on, they were all broke…no doors to the morgue. The freezers in the morgue were unplugged, not working and the only freezer there in the morgue was a freezer where they have fetuses and placentas and so forth. So I was worried and concerned where the baby was. I then called the guy that was responsible for the morgue; he said he was coming. When he came, he told me that there was no baby…that somebody had taken the baby from there and he was going to find out. We spoke to the male attendant who was working that day and then he explained to us that he had given the baby to a family that came on Thursday.”
Baby Angelie was buried on Thursday in a shallow grave in Camalote village. But early Sunday morning it was exhumed and re-buried in Belmopan.
Via Phone: Orlando Muschamp
“When I went to the grave site and I saw the mud that was dug to put my little grandbaby in was not even two inches above the surface and had to be completely covered with some big rocks and so forth, I felt that it was a dog that was buried there. Myself along with my sister in law and a public health inspector and the police and personnel from the hospital went to do the exhuming of the body. We were there about five-thirty, quarter to six. It took us about ten, fifteen minutes to take out the coffin.”
The Ministry of Health has not made any comments but an investigation is ongoing. How is it that the identities of a fetus and a fully developed baby could have been mistaken? And even worse given to another family without proper procedures? Muschamp believes that it is negligence.
Merta Rudon
“The person who got the baby was like four, five months pregnant; that was a fetus. How could they have mistaken a fetus with a nine months one week old baby?”
Via Phone: Orlando Muschamp
“We are asking a lot of questions and we are very concerned and we want answers. And so far they want us to believe that another family involved; that another family got this body and did this. That story I am not buying. And I don’t think anyone hearing me today will accept that this baby was delivered to someone in the right way in the fact that when I went for the baby, they asked me where is your death certificate. I handed in my death certificate. I can’t believe that they would have handed a body to someone without a death certificate.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
my beloved friend…….. this some SERIOUS NEGLIGENCE with our hospitals……… Sue them this is pure nonsense!
I think that’s bull how will they do that Belize needs a clean up they need to start from the top all the way to the bottom starting with the government and don’t be afraid to fired people like that I think as a guy I would give my full support and vote to females we need them to speak up and run the country if the males can’t I say move aside and let the female run it like other country they have female president now belize wake up.All that crap that’s happening in our country destroying our ruins Belize stand up now or never.
No one cares about much in Belize anymore. To so many workers all they want is the paycheck. Half the time they show up to work drunk or hangover. When people are working in the horrible conditions that this morgue was in they don’t have a sense of functioning at a professional level. People act according to their surroundings. So much of the country is in a broken down state that people have no hope, so they just do things in any old way.
I agree with @beto. This is the lowest of the lowest. I have no words.
don’t worry fellow Belizeans! remember that the Minister of Health is winning village council elections so it is all that matters… our babies keep dying but as long as they win elections we are ok right???
Pablo performs where it matters,
OUR ENTIRE PUBLIC SERVICE IS A MESS… CORRUPTED IN EVERY ASPECT… GO TO LANDS N U WILL SEE.. GO THE HOSPITALS N THEY TREAT US AS IF ITS NOT THEIR JOB TO BE RESPECTFUL AND NICE….. THEY TREAT US BELZEANS LIKE OUTSIDERS… THANK GOD FOR THE JOB I HAVE…. EVERY TIME A FAMILY MEMBER IS SICK I PREFER PRIVATE CLINICS OR JUST JUMP CROSS THE BORDER… WE GET WAY WAY BETTER TREATMENT OVER THE OTHER SIDE, THE DOCTORS ARE WAY WAY BETTER…. I FEEL FOR THE FAMILY…. RISE BELIZE RISE!!!!
How much worse will it get before Belizeans get enough of this sort of neglegence and start demanding more than a load of sand in their yard. Hell with UDP and PUP do something that is for the country!
My heart goes to you mom! Be strong! Something similar happened to me…read it here http://archive.channel5belize.com/archives/54135
Right now you are hurting like hell. But listen…time heals. I still do cry for my little girl but I have faith that better days are ahead of me.
I wish I could hug you and cry with you. God bless you with strength, faith, patience and wisdom. I know Angelie and Daniella are okay, they are playing up in heaven.
Be Strong!
My heart goes out to you mom! Something similar happened to me. Read it here http://archive.channel5belize.com/archives/54135
I know you are in a ton of pain. But have faith. Time heals…I still do cry for my little girl but I know for sure, Daniella and Angelie are up in heaven playing.
Be Strong!
The person who needs to answer for this a a useless corrupt impotent bigot named judas barrow he doesn’t care about any one except his family and his corrupt partners in fact he is on his 25 vacation for the year spending more of the poo people money on self gratification of himself and his family he told all of you outright he doesn’t care that your child was murdered and their is nothing you can do about it .
my condolences goes out to Shajida. I know what it feels to have a baby taken away from you.
i am so sorry for the mother, to know that she loose her baby due to negligence. this have to stop in Belize. Mr. Marin you have to get up and do something about this mess, but anyway how would he even feel he is busy campaigning and winning the villages. come on make the minister gives his face like a man, its people we are talking about not animals. poor people are the ones that should
get the best treatment at our government hospitals because they do not have any other option. but what happens is the reverse. come on man, what kind of heart we have. that’s the main reason i do not visit the government hospitals. the nurses there full up of bad attitudes.
its not the child of Mr. Pablo Marin nor the Child of the CEO, so who cares. it will be just another scandal of the hospital that will blow away like the breeze
Professional negligence is being demonstrated by the Western Regional Hospital and KHMH. My deepest sympathies goes out to the grieving family especially Nelly. I cannot imagine the unbearable pain that was/is experienced for the family.That is why Belizeans emigrate to other countries to prevent these “mishaps” from occuring. The health system is much more better than in Belize. I am pleaing to the GOVERNMENT; The PM to take action. The poor little angel’s life could have been saved if only the doctor wasn’t negligent. They should have kept her for observation. Why send her home? Doctor’s should be saving our lives but it seems as if all they want is the fat pay cheque. They are covering something up. Why did the Ministry of Health not send out the release of the death of three babies that occured at the W.R.H. last week either?? The truth will come out!