3-year-old death
…says parents were in denial
By Lakhram Bhagirat
Three-year-old Anisha Singh had an intrinsic brain stem tumour that caused her health to rapidly deteriorate, but her parents were in denial, despite many explanations from the team of doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Head of the Neurosurgery Department at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, told Guyana Times that the child’s tumour was inoperable, and that it would have reached the stage where it began to compress the brain stems, thus resulting in the symptoms that Anisha was experiencing.
Samantha Kandasammy and Michael Singh, the parents of three-year-old Anisha, have accused some doctors at the institution of serious malpractice, which they claim resulted in the death of their toddler.
Anisha, of Lot 2 Edon Street, Tucville, Georgetown, passed away at a private institution at about 02:00h on Tuesday, after her parents had taken her away from the GPHC against her doctors’ advice.
The distraught parents said that their baby girl was healthy, but had a cold, which was later diagnosed as pneumonia, but the doctors at the GPHC failed to treat her for that, which may have caused her death. They added that the hospital also withheld the medical records, preventing them from accessing care at another institution, and possibly overseas.
Guyana Times first reported the death of the toddler along with the parents’ accusations, and in an effort to clear the air, what the team of doctors and nurses told their side of what had transpired.
“A brain stem tumour is the definitive diagnosis. The patient had pneumonia as a complication of the brain stem tumour. Her initial issue was, and has always been, a brain stem tumour,” Dr Dukhi reiterated.
The neurosurgeon said the tumour was inoperable, and no institution would have operated on it. He explained that from the initial diagnosis the parents of Anisha were in denial, refusing to believe that she had a life-threatening tumour, and as such, he organized a multi-disciplined team to address the situation.
The team comprised social workers, the Chef Executive Officer of the GPHC, the Director of Medical Services, the pediatric neurosurgeon, and several nurses.
“We explained to the mother, but she has been denying the fact that (the child) had a brain tumour. The child could have depreciated clinically with time. If the patient would have gone overseas, the management would have been the same that was given at the GPHC, and I told the family exactly that,” he related.
He explained that the option of radiology treatment was discussed, but the Radiologist wanted the tumour to be biopsied, which would have been fatal; and that was explained to Kandasammy and her husband. He noted that, in most cases like Anisha’s, the patient would eventually die.
On the issue of withholding medical records, Dr Dukhi said hospital authorities have an obligation to provide the relatives with a report, and they did.
“It was not until last Wednesday or Thursday this was requested, and it was ready Friday and it was signed on Monday by the Director of Medical Services. Regardless if it was signed earlier, it would not have made a difference, because evacuating a patient takes time,” he related.
“I would not allow a child who was in that state to be transferred anywhere. The child was taken out of the hospital against medical advice. Our responsibility legally ends when the parent signs the form, and that was what happened,” he added.
He noted that at that juncture the mother became abusive to medical personnel on his team, but that was brushed off in an effort to provide quality care to the family.
The hospital has expressed its condolences to the family of Anisha.
