GPHC maternal death…Husband made aware of wife’s cause of death

Having lost his wife, 28-year-old Luan, during child birth at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) more than a month ago, Nigel Rodney is still awaiting the results of an investigation that he was told, two weeks ago, was ongoing.
According to the man, during a meeting with hospital officials two weeks ago he was asked to “give us two weeks” before the findings of the investigation could be divulged. Although an initial post mortem examination conducted on his wife’s remains was inconclusive, Rodney disclosed yesterday that he has been in receipt of the official cause of death.  A death certificate states that the woman’s death was due to a ruptured uterus resulting in hypovolemic shock.
The condition which caused the woman’s death is life-threatening and according to medical experts it is created when an individual loses more than 20 per cent of his body’s blood supply. This severe blood loss makes it impossible for the heart to pump sufficient blood throughout the body thereby causing many organs to fail if immediate emergency medication attention is not engaged.
The baby was delivered stillborn because of the excessive bleeding and because his wife hadn’t sufficient passage, medical officials told the grieving widower.
The man was told that although his wife was administered medication to induce labour she was not closely monitored even after a nurse was alerted to the fact that she was in labour.  He said that a nearby patient revealed that it was not until she observed the now dead woman bleeding and alerted the ward nurse that action was taken.
Luan was admitted to the public hospital to deliver her overdue baby on June 3, 2013 but by the next morning she was pronounced dead.
There are reports that the woman was administered the very controversial Cytotec which has known to cause complications ranging from uterine rupture to amniotic fluid embolism. However, the labour inducing medication is still very much approved by many health sectors.
According to Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, during an interview with this publication although the drug is a legitimate one it is imperative that patients, to whom it is administered, are closely monitored.
“Cytotec is a good drug to induce labour…it is in protocol now and it is one that is being used more and more for such activities…but once you induce labour by whatever method patients must be monitored,” he asserted.
Two doctors and two nurses have since been sent on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
A report into the state of affairs has since gained the attention of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer and a Cabinet-appointed Expert Committee which will review all documents and make relevant recommendations within a specific time. The specific time frame has however not been shared with the husband of the dead woman neither the media.
However, Minister Ramsaran has assured that the investigation into the matter is being done according to the law and following this undertaking the findings will be made public as is recommended by law.