A private hospital on Thursday last refused to admit as a patient an eight-month-long pregnant woman, who was registered with their clinic, after she tested positive for Covid-19.
According to information reaching this publication, the 38-year-old resident of Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD) was registered with the institution’s clinic and on Thursday last, she visited the hospital as per her scheduled checkup date.
After arriving at the hospital at around 08:30h, she did a Covid test, an ultrasound and was examined by a gynecologist but at around 11:30h, her Covid test result returned as positive.
Distraught by the news, the woman started to ‘bleed’ and fell ill. She requested admission but was told that the hospital cannot accept her. The woman was subsequently referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
GPHC’s Public Relations Officer Jai Lall explained that “by then, her husband, who was in a state of shock and dismay, tried to control himself. He had to purchase some sanitary pads for his wife to use in order to stop the bleeding. They were both surprised, hysterical, furious and mad with this unexpected treatment and trauma at this institution.”
On arriving at the GPHC, the expecting mother was immediately admitted to the Isolation Section. Upon seeing her condition, the medical staff began to treat her case as an emergency and on examination, they found that she was in labour.
At around 12:30h, the woman gave birth to a baby boy. This would be the couple’s second child together as they already have an eight-year-old son.
The baby’s heart rate was low at birth and he had to be placed in an incubator at the NICU for specialised care.
The mother was discharged and is at home, resting in isolation. The woman’s husband told this publication that the treatment meted out by the private institution is unacceptable and should be investigated.
He bemoaned that his wife and child could have died due to the failure of the private hospital to admit the woman.
“It’s not fair,” he expressed.
The private hospital in question is the same institution that refused to admit 21-year-old Kherysha Pompey, a single and first-time mother, who ended up delivering her baby in a taxi outside of the GPHC.
