A Moruga couple is demanding an investigation into the circumstances which led to their baby’s collarbone being broken during delivery at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).
Housewife Kenya Bacchus, 18, and her common-law husband, Jerome Granger, 29, said the hospital staff apologised but treated the matter flippantly, saying that was a normal occurrence.
Bacchus has been discharged but the eight- pound baby boy, who also has jaundice, is still warded at the hospital.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, the young mother, who has two other sons—one and three years old—said on Saturday she went to the hospital after experiencing contractions and was warded.
She said her water bag was ruptured on Sunday around 4 pm and her baby was born at 5.39 pm. “I was warded about 8 pm on the post-natal ward. The delivery was good. There were no complications. There were no doctors in the room. The baby was delivered by a midwife,” she added.
The following morning (Monday), she said the doctor checked the baby and realised his left hand was not responsive. “She checked numerous times and still no response so she ordered an X-ray done at 1.44 pm,” she recalled.
Bacchus said she was discharged on Monday evening but she refused to leave until she got the results of the X-ray.
“This morning (Tuesday) I went looking for the doctor and I got the results around 9.30 am which stated that the baby’s collarbone was broken. They said it could be mended back. They said during labour the baby could get stuck and is a big baby. I had two babies before and nothing like that ever happened,” she added.
She said a head doctor spoke with her and explained it was a normal occurrence. “He said is lucky my baby did not get brain damage and my baby could have died,” she added.
Bacchus said the doctor referred them to the Customer Complaints Desk where they filed a complaint.
Granger, however, refused to accept that explanation. “That is not good enough. First of all the baby born since Sunday and we now finding this out.” The couple was not confident that an investigation would be launched.
“They were not treating this matter like it was important,” Granger said, adding: “I cannot take sorry. I looking for something different than sorry. I looking for justice for my child, some kind of compensation. This is their fault.”
Although the baby is not crying plenty, she said he must be in some kind of discomfort. “His collarbone is broken,” she said.
When she left the baby, Bacchus said no one was attending to his broken arm. “His hand was not in a sling, nothing. They just have him under the lights for the jaundice. They said on December 2 they will pin up the baby hand.”
She said the doctor told her once the baby’s condition with regards to the jaundice improved he would be discharged. Granger, a gardener, said they would be consulting with their attorney about legal redress.
When contacted SFGH’s director, Dr Pravinde Ramoutar, said once the couple made a complaint at the hospital’s Complaints Desk an investigation would take place.
“During delivery there is a fair amount of tugging that takes place. Sometimes you have dislocations and breakages but an investigation will be launched for sure,” he added.