Nurses at GPHC accused of negligence after woman dies after gallstone surgery
Nurses attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have once again been accused of negligence, resulting in the death of 45-year-old Shonnata Sawh.
In a Facebook post, the dead woman’s cousin, L. Valantina Ramotar, detailed that the 45-year-old woman went to the medical institution on Wednesday to complete a “gallstone surgery.”
The surgery was performed, and according to Ramotar, Sawh complained of pain.
“Later that night, apparently, she was vomiting severely. The nurses never contacted the doctor. The doctor said that when she did her rounds in the morning that she got to know of the vomiting, and she gave her something to stop it,” the woman’s distraught cousin wrote.
Ramotar added that her cousin’s blood pressure was checked by the doctor, who noted that it was normal.
However, on Thursday morning, a relative said she witnessed the woman’s blood pressure being checked, which was low.
“The doctor never got that reading. Throughout the day (Thursday), she was feeling weak, nauseous, had cold sweat, and continued to have a low pressure.”
The grieving cousin added, “the same morning, the same doctor that saw her noted urine in the Catheter bag. But before mid-day, she wasn’t passing anything, and again this was not recorded, so when at 4 PM she collapsed and started to go into seizure, it was too late.”
The grieving woman is contending that when her cousin collapsed, she “finally started to get medical care,” but that was too late.
“It was too late, not because the doctors did not try but because the nurses, the nurses neglected my cousin. She was even worried about upsetting them she told her dad not to tell them anything, not to make them angry!!!”
To this end, Ramotar noted that the billions of dollars invested in the healthcare sector would be a waste of resources if nurses cannot provide quality healthcare.
“If people are not held accountable for these death caused by negligence!! Sadly, Shonnata was not the first and wont be the last person to die of total negligence. She did not have to die – with the investments that is being made by our government.”
Ramotar added, “this was an unnecessary death of a woman who was a proud educator. But she died because those who are responsible for continuously monitoring of patients and escalating issues never did their job!”
Meanwhile, when contacted by MTV News Update, the Head of Strategic Planning and Communication at the GPHC, Chelauna Providence, explained that the matter has not reached her desk.
She noted that this could be as a result of two reasons: the family did not file a complaint, or there is an active investigation, given that it transpired this week.
The GPHC recorded two maternal deaths only last week, and family members accused the institution of negligence.
