Negligence of the SWRHA

[Resha]

SAN FERNANDO General Hospital (SFGH) Medical Chief of Staff Stephen Ramroop yesterday said the injuries suffered by six-day-old baby Faith Davis, whose right hand was burnt by leaking intravenous fluid, is something that happens from time to time.

Ramroop said: “I would like to let everyone know that this is an incident that will occur, has occurred and does occur in every single acute care hospital in the world.”

Ramroop and South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Executive Medical Director Dr Albert Persad both spoke at the press conference after Health Minister Jerry Narace called for a full-scale investigation to be carried out.

Ramroop said the skin damage, called extravasation, may have happened when baby Faith suffered a seizure which caused intravenous fluid to leak out of her veins.

Ramroop said that baby Faith came into the hospital on July 9 with a very serious medical problem, which required an intravenous line to treat.

Ramroop said as Medical Director he was quite comfortable with how the matter was managed.

“When the line extravasated it was recognised by the junior doctors, the senior doctors dressed the extravasation, or cellular damage, and referred it to a specialist plastic surgeon,” said Ramroop.

He said that the specialist told Faith’s parents, Earl Davis, 39, and his wife Maureen, 37, that the wound was only on the topmost layer of skin (superficial) on the right hand.

“The wound will heal. Nothing is wrong with the child’s bones, nothing is wrong with the limb, it is a superficial burn that most of us would get when we scald our hand, in this case it was due to a fluid that leaked into the tissue and damaged the skin,” said Ramroop.

When contacted yesterday, Faith’s father said he felt that a cover up was taking place and he would be seeking legal advice on the matter.

“The specialist told us that there is a possibility Faith may lose full use of her right hand because of tissue damage,” Davis said.

 

[admin]

Actually this is true this sort of things happens alot and a child aged less than a few months don't have bones as yet their bodies are still in cartilage still to be formed into bones, so the medical doctor who talked abut the child bones where was he studying his doctor rate

 

[Resha]

Its a stupid staement for a Medical Cheif of Staff to say.,....(something that happens from time to time. ) It shows the carelessness of staff at the SWRHA..., The irresponsibilities of staff, Etc

 

[Resha]

This incident took place at Tobago hospital.........

The death of a baby is too much for any mother to bear but Melissa Elliot is enduring the indescribable pain of the loss of two babies.

“They let my twins die,” Elliot, 30, cried yesterday, still grieving for her newborn girls.

The compensation she is to receive from the State is merely a token acceptance that negligence by the medical staff of the Scarborough Regional Hospital cost her daughters their lives.

“Nothing can compensate for the loss of my twin daughters. They left them to die.... in an environment where they suppose to care for mother and baby,” Elliot’s husband Michael, 35.

The couple claimed medical personnel at the hospital failed to recognise that Elliot was experiencing labour pains and needed medical assistance, in spite of her cries for their help.

In her writ, Elliot said she had to watch as her babies pushed their way out of her and died. It was about 7 pm, on September 27, 2005, when Michael took his wife to the hospital when she began having contractions.

She was admitted to a maternity ward and placed on a bed. Within minutes, her labour pains intensified and she called out for help. No nurse or doctor, responded, she alleged in the lawsuit.

At about 8.15 pm, Elliot went into full labour, and in excruciating pain, she again called out for help. Still no one went to her.

“Thereupon, a baby’s hand emerged.. But continuing to cry out loudly, she gave birth to twins. She was left unattended for the entire period,” the lawsuit stated.

Then, according to the lawsuit, the second baby came out. Elliot stated that she recalled someone telling her at her bedside, that the lungs of the twin babies were not fully developed and that they would die within hours.

In her writ, Elliot stated: “No attempt was made to keep the babies alive. They were then wrapped in brown paper. The babies died some hours after and were sent to the morgue. I was told that they would be sent to the morgue.”


“I was begging for help. The first child came out just so. It stay there with the navel string attached. Yes, right there on the bed I give birth and no one came. It was only when the second child was born, that they came.”

Michael said his mother, Norma, 62, also left to summon a nurse. “I kept asking my wife how she feeling. Then the nurse run saying ‘all you not suppose to be in here.’”


In his order in their lawsuit, Justice Smith instructed the State to pay Elliot damages for personal injuries, loss and damages caused by the defendants, their agents and or servants in the provision of professional, medical, diagnostic, surgical and nursing services.

 

[admin]

What the hell whats' going on in that hospital omg twins this is shocking and sad, this country just sickens me

 

[RauCous]

Yeah everytime a read stories like this i does get sick literally. It's the health system for crying out loud. If they dont care about people what the frying hell they doing there!!

 

[admin]

I does wonder now who does be training these people, it seems like the method used to train these people are not working, you know what is happening is that people are just going into the job for money and are not performing. Reason why their should be stricter and hash penities so that negligence don't happen often and those who do the wrong things should be dealt with accordingly

 

[Resha]

Look what happen in St Ann's Hospital... Somebody ( a member/s of staff ) beat up an man so bad, he died... Now the police saying its murder and those people who were involve will be charged... Ah wonder what the Minister of Health ...Jerry would say about that...

 

[Resha]

Police investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of St Ann’s patient Allan Warner have seized a fire extinguisher believed to be the murder weapon.

Warner, 56, of Upper Pashley Street, Laventille, died on Saturday at the Intensive Care Unit of Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Five male nurses have so far been suspended from the hospital, pending the outcome of a police and internal probe surrounding Warner’s death. An autopsy revealed Warner, the nephew of UNC deputy political leader Jack Warner, died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Officers of the Belmont Police Station returned to the Mental Health Facility on Monday, and all day yesterday, in order to conduct further inquiries. The extinguisher attached to a wall at Ward Eight of the facility was seized by investigators. Police said based on information they received, the instrument was used in the alleged attack against Warner.

 

[RauCous]

Waaay these people was wrestling or something. How people go use THAT to restrain somebody!! Thats real crazyness there. Whatever happen to big strong orderlies who could manhandle you and strap you down.. waay.

 

[LadyDeath]

Huhmmp... Datz real weird you know ... why would they want to kill some one like him? Did he have any bad relations with anyone there?

 

[madsuya]

they needed to use injection to restrain those mad ones, TRANQUILIZES

 

[LadyDeath]

My cousin-in-law went St Anns once and he had to work in the room and leather over the seats that were used to tie them down ....scaryy

 

[madsuya]

anytime y have to restrain someone u cant handle just trow a sheet on them (from head down) an hold them, their hands does b covered and cant fight so u dont danage d patients we did dat wit crazy patients in d rehab centre an it worked!!!

 

[admin]

The hospitals are really getting out of hand could you imagine you going to do a basic check up and you coming out of the hospital more sick than you were before. Before people used to go to a hospital to get cured and to save their lives now its either you loose you life or you end up even more sick. The ministry of health is not doing their jobs in running an efficient health care system

 

[madsuya]

ah had to share dis wit u... a Moruga pensioner huddled under a sheet on the floor of the San Fernando General Hospital praying for a bed. But around him at Ward Nine, more than 15 other patients also suffered because of a bed shortage at the institution. Many of the patients were seated on chairs and the floor. One woman had an intravenous fluid bag attached to her arm. With her face crinkled in pain, she struggled to make herself comfortable on the chair....The pensioner, who was fearful of getting a stroke, said he felt worse after coming to the hospital...y can't we see progress in our hospitals...buh dey say Within the next two weeks another 30 beds are expected to made available for patients at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). This comes on the heels of a chronic overcrowding situation at the hospital where patients were forced to sleep on chairs and floors of wards. The situation improved over the past few days but overcrowding has been an ongoing problem. Yesterday, South West Regional Health Authority chairman, Dr Lackram Bodoe, acting chief executive officer Anil Gosine, other authority board members and the management team met with senior doctors to address the overcrowding issue..let raise dis topic ppl cause it affects all of us!!!

 

[madsuya]

CEO of the South West Regional Health Authority Anil Gosine says the San Fernando General Hospital has obtained 3 weeks supply of the much needed surgery drug, Neostigmine. Gosine.....the drug had been procured for the hospital to ensure that surgery there continued uninterrupted.......

Last Thursday, acting medical director Dr Pravinde Ramoutar, who replaced now retired Dr Lester Goetz last December, issued a memo advising all surgeons of a critical shortage of the drug. He ordered all theatres to go into emergency mode and remain closed, with the exception of the Accident and Emergency theatre....

The memo later was recalled as the SWRHA got hold of a supply of the drug to continue surgeries over the weekend. Gosine said surgeries continued as normal at the hospital. Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan was contacted by text message for comment. He directed the T&T Guardian to Dr Akenath Misir, chief medical officer.

Misir said the shortage has been sorted out....he added: “We are expecting two shipments, 1 by air and 1 by sea. We do not anticipate that this problem will continue any longer....“We are expecting (the air shipment) to arrive today or tomorrow, except if the plane cannot get off the ground due to snow storm or something like that.”.......

He said Nipdec had been handling the procurement of pharmaceuticals for a number of years and from time-to-time there had been challenges in terms of delivery. However, Misir said: “Generally we have a good service from them.”.......