News Five Investigates Child Mortality at Public Hospitals
In part one of our Hospital Horrors investigative series, we told you about the nightmarish experiences of Leah Woodeye, Deon Woodeye and Nayomi Guerrero, two separate experiences at two different hospitals. Tonight, we take a closer look at some specific points they highlighted from their encounters. We also hear from Doctor Natalia Beer the Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Health to better understand some of the established protocols at public health facilities, as we ventilate these hospital horrors. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
In 2018, eleven-week-old Deon Woodeye Junior passed away inside the Corozal Community Hospital. His parents Leah and Deon Woodeye rushed him there after the child began experiencing severe diarrhea and vomiting.
Leah Woodeye
Leah Woodeye, Mother of Deceased Baby
“Deh never mih tek it as an emergency, because from the first place, when you reach in emergency it is an emergency. If clinic mih open then I mih gwen deh, but dah wah emergency. And my baby the cry and thing and I know he didn’t feel good. That is why I took him there.”
We spoke with Dr. Natalia Beer the Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Health about protocols in place at public health facilities for emergencies involving children.
Natalia Beer
Dr. Natalia Beer, Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor, MOHW
“The majority of parents knows when a child needs to go to emergency. A few cases they slip into outpatient and need to be diverted to accident and emergency and whenever there is a complication or a person in need of urgent attention then, they will get priority also at emergency.”
But that’s not the kind of priority that Deon Woodeye says his son was given. The couple claims that they waited two hours, clinging to their sick child, before getting help.
Deon Woodeye Sr.
Deon Woodeye, Father of Deceased Baby
“In my mind I didn’t know what to do at that time. I was thinking if there are other ways, I could find for my baby to get better quick, because deh doctors never the work how deh mih suppose to work, deh the tek long with my baby. He done the get blue already, you know.”
Doctor Beer says the staff at emergency units across the country are trained to determine when a patient needs emergency care and when a patient must join the que. This is done to manage the limited human resources available at health facilities.
Dr. Natalia Beer
“Let’s say a child with a severe dehydration, secondary to diarrhea, everybody can identify those cases, and that doesn’t need no question, no paper, it goes directly to receive care. But other cases that are not that urgent, they will be received in emergency, but they have to follow procedures or wait for there turn.”
Doctor Beer further indicated that the circumstances that may have led to baby Deon’s death are isolated.
Deon Woodeye Jr.
Dr. Natalia Beer
“That case doesn’t happen every day. It is very rare we have a situation like that. The problem with young babies, young children. They do not present all the signs and symptoms you would expect with older children or adults. Even for clinicians it will be a bit difficult to, and especially if they are not in the hospital setting as occurred in this case, it was at the polyclinic, if I am not mistaken.”
Leah and Deon Woodeye sought to take legal action shortly after their son’s passing, believing that their eleven-week-old son would still be alive if efficient care was provided. The matter was heard virtually by a Magistrate and later dismissed. Their attorney is now working on appealing the dismissal.
Leah Woodeye
“At that time that lady, all what she could have done was start put the baby on IV or check ah up or whatever, do the triage and then go call the doctor. But she never do that, I guess ih mih too busy pan dah phone.”
Deon Woodeye
“Like weh the lawyer tell we, this case dah wah winning case, we just have to keep on smiling. I don’t know what kind of smile now. I think we the smile too long. Time the run out and I don’t know what will happen. With her sickness, I need a lot of help with her. Right now she needs a biopsy and I donor for a kidney.”
Turning to another hospital horror. Aaron Allen passed away inside the KHMH on the night of July eight, two days before his mother, Naomi Guerrero went the hospital with severe bleeding. Still grieving her son’s death, she questions many of the decisions that were made at the hospital.
Nahomy Guerrero
Nahomy Guerrero, Mother of Aaron Allen
“Are you bleeding, she asked again, I told her no miss. I the tell you I just urine pink this morning and obviously nobody urine pink. She said, well you have to wait. Now is not an emergency. That’s why you should have come from yesterday from the first time yo bleed. I tell ah I just want mek unu do an ultrasound for me to see if my baby ok. She said, you cant get a n ultrasound because it is not an emergency anymore. But if you want an ultrasound you must pay for it.”
We also spoke with Doctor Natalia Beer about the protocols in place at public health facilities for pregnant women experiencing complications.
Dr. Natalia Beer
“Our protocols are designed in a way that the woman has contact with the primary health care facilities and then there are steps the health facility needs to comply with, assess and interpret and then make a decision to refer to the specialist.”
Still, the decision to conduct a c-section came almost a day after she arrived at the hospital, on July seventh
Nahomy Guerro
“In the morning when they did rounds, I finally saw a doctor. They were already monitoring the baby heart again. That is when the doctor, he didn’t come to me and told me directly, he told the nurse prepare this lady, she needs c-section right now.”
According to Aaron Allen’s death certificate, he passed away on July eight, at ten p.m. Guerrero also claims that she did not get a chance to give her child skin-to-skin care after the delivery, an opportunity gone forever.
Nahomy Guerrero
“He born the Friday around nine-thirty and I didn’t get to see my baby that day, I didn’t see him any at all, so.”
Dr Natalia Beer
“As part of the baby friendly hospital initiative, all hospitals are encouraging women, after vaginal delivery or even c-section to have the baby placed on the abdomen of the mom or start the breast feeding within the first hour of the birth.”
Paul Lopez
“And if it is a premature child?”
Dr Natalia Beer
“Like wise for prematurity, the ideal situation is for the child to be kept warm, skin-to-skin with the mom.”
Guerrero says the greatest toll during her time at the hospital came from the manner in which information was being provided to her. She shared that she was unfamiliar with many of the terms being used, which she says added to her anxiety.
Fernando Cuellar
Dr. Fernando Cuellar, Internist & Intensivist
“It is always a challenge for us care givers to break down into five cents and two cents in the common language of the person what that means. I think it will be ridiculous to say to the patient that they have a condition called abropto placente, what the hell that mean, so you must break that down.”
Nahomy Guerrero
“I guess that’s a big problem at that hospital because then, nurses and doctors should come and explain you as the patient weh nuh have the degree should help you understand what is happening.”
Reporting for News Five I am Paul Lopez.
