-husband expresses suspicion, says he was barred from PME

WHILE it has been concluded that Berbice mother, Devi Samaroo died as a result of blood clots in the lungs, and her stillborn baby had a hole in her heart, relatives say they are suspicious as they continue to receive conflicting information and were barred from witnessing the post-mortem examination (PME).

According to reports, Samaroo died on Sunday, one day after her infant. She was admitted to the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital on Friday evening.

The woman’s husband, Sunil Partap, 28, of Lot 85 Bloomfield, on Monday expressed outrage at being unable to witness the PME of his wife and child.

“We were told two relatives; the two closest relative can see when them a get cut, but when the police come them nah allow nobody only the police officer. So, we want to know now what they had to hide. We understand if we went in and could not stay because of how we feeling, but we nah even get that chance. This ah cause us more hurt and suspicion, ” he said during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

He said that as the family await answers, Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Vishalya Sharma, has promised that a thorough investigation is underway. Partap said he intends to hold her to that promise and as such will give the authorities ample time to ensure that this is done.

The grief-stricken man is contending that his wife was healthy and did not have any known issues with her lungs. He, however, is very perplexed with actions of the health officials from the time his daughter died to now, since there are conflicting reports about the circumstances of her death. Being barred from witnessing the post-mortem has made him even more suspicious.

SADDENED
Meanwhile, the hospital in a press release issued on Monday evening, expressed its sadness at what had happened.
It was disclosed that Samaroo was admitted to the hospital on October 29 in the evening and delivered a pre-term infant via a vaginal delivery the following morning, but died the next day.

According to the release, the post-mortem revealed the cause of death for Samaroo as a massive bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism or blood clots in both lungs, while the neonate suffered a congenital malformation known as Ventral Septal Defect or a hole in the heart.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that the post-mortem was conducted by Government Pathologist, Dr. Vivekanand Bridgemohan.
The hospital explained that the hole-in-the-heart condition is the second most common congenital heart defect, with a prevalence of 4 per 1000 births.

“Pregnancy and the postpartum period are well-established risk factors for pulmonary embolism, which occurs in approximately 1 in 1600 pregnancies. In the United States, pulmonary embolism is one of the major causes of maternal death. About 10% of patients with acute pulmonary embolism die suddenly,” the hospital further explained.

“The management and staff of the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital are deeply saddened by this event and express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and as such, remain open to any questions the family may have,” the release said, adding that the matter and the post-mortem results have since been referred to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The hospital said it “welcomes any further investigation that the MoH might want to pursue” and gave its word that it along with the office of the Regional Health Officer, Region Six, “will provide full cooperation to the MoH should it decide on further investigation.”

ANSWERS
The Guyana Chronicle was told that the Regional Chairman David Armogan, along with the Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Vishalya Sharma and other officials visited Samaroo’s home and assured her relatives that an investigation concerning how they were treated and the cause of death has been launched and answers will be provided to the family.

The woman’s relatives are calling on the authorities to provide them with answers to their many questions as the incident has left them in shock.
Due to the inability to get closure, a date for the funeral has not yet been decided.

Samraroo’s mother, Mahendrawattie Sewnauth, expressed gratitude to the regional officials for visiting and said she felt somewhat appeased not only because of the visit, but given the assurances made that answers will be provided.