Improper disposal of foetus due to negligence – Health Ministry

The Public Health Ministry has said in a released statement on Friday that the foetus which was dismembered by a stray dog at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre (DDC), on the East Bank of Demerara, was due to the carelessness of the hospital’s medical team.
According to the release, the administration of the Diamond Diagnostic Centre contacted the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Public Health Ministry, Shamdeo Persaud, to confirm the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in such a circumstance.
It was relayed to them that the correct procedure would be to transport the foetus to the Georgetown Public Hospital to be disposed of properly, since the Georgetown Hospital has the recommended facilities to dispose of biohazardous waste. However, it was reported that there was a lack of compliance in the execution of that SOP.
Guyana Times had reported earlier in the week that a 26-year-old woman who delivered a 22-weeks-old foetus, which would have been her fifth child, wanted nothing to do with the dead child’s remains and left the dead infant’s disposal as the Hospital’s responsibility. However, the foetus was poorly disposed of by the medical personnel and this went unnoticed until a stray dog brusquely dragged the body of the dead premature baby out of a dump heap and into the compound of the public hospital, dismembering it.
An investigation was launched by the Public Health Ministry into the matter to determine the officials responsible for this gross act of negligence.
According to Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton, strict action will be taken against the culprit(s) to ensure that incidents of this nature do not reoccur.