Physician should have better managed situation – report

The report on the death of Carol Suniram – the mother who died at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre in July after carrying a dead five-month-old foetus in her womb for five days – has disclosed that the physician should have better managed the situation.

This was revealed by Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton on Wednesday. The Minister stated that the report recommended that the doctor be further trained.
When asked if the doctor or any of the medical personnel who last dealt with Suniram will be sanctioned, Norton said that decision is in the hands of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud. He stated that Persaud can order that the physician be sent to the medical council to decide whether he should be taken to the disciplinary committee which is chaired by a sitting judge.
Suniram, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, had suffered a miscarriage five days before her death and was prescribed pills by a doctor at the Diamond Hospital to birth the five-month-old foetus.
Her sister-in-law, J Singh, stated that the 39-year-old woman was told that the baby had died inside her and that the doctor prescribed a pill and instructed her to return the following Monday for a medical procedure.
Singh said Suniram went to the hospital but died after going into cardiac arrest.
While Guyana’s maternal mortality rate has dropped within the last 12 months, a United Nations report has stated that Guyana was among five countries in the Region with the highest maternal mortality rate. The maternal mortality ratio has decreased from 270 per cent in 1990 to 86 per cent in 2012.