Health Ministry probing death of 19-month-old boy
After a 19-month-old boy of Zeelugt Housing Scheme died on Thursday at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, the Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday said that a multi-disciplinary team is investigating the case.
The MoH in its statement said that records indicate that over a period of about 48 hours, the baby, Kayden Munroe, had visited several health institutions, including the Den Amstel Health Centre, the Leonora District Hospital, a private pharmacy, a private doctor’s office, and the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
The Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and MoH have expressed their profound condolences to the family of the child and assured the family and the public that a full investigation will be conducted. The Ministry said that it was made aware of the family’s distress by an article on the Newsroom website relating the concerns expressed by the family members.
The statement further said that as part of the multi-disciplinary team’s investigation, in accordance with the law, a postmortem will be conducted tomorrow. The MoH further disclosed that the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Narine Singh has initiated a thorough investigation of the child’s death which has started with compiling of reports from all the medical providers who were involved. This part of the investigation, the release said, was
scheduled to be completed yesterday.
In addition, the CMO has initiated a process to complete in-person interviews with the officers over the next twenty-four hours. Further, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Department is conducting its own investigation since it is reported that the child was also seen at a health centre. Both the CMO’s office and the MCH will also interview members of the family, the release further stated.
The MoH has assured the family that a fair, independent, and multi-disciplinary investigation will be conducted and a report submitted to the Minister shortly.