Nurse sues over death of baby at Trinidad hospital; complains of ‘hoggish’ colleagues

(Trinidad Guardian) Registered nurse Natasha Samuel says her baby girl Skiye died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital NICU on April 9. She says the baby was her last hope of becoming a mother.

One of two death certificates showing the cause of death for baby Skiye from the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

A 42-year-old registered nurse who lost her baby at the Port-of-Spain Maternity Department’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) says the death of her child has dashed all hopes of her becoming a mother.

The nurse, who also works at the Portof-Spain General Hospital, detailed what she called the “hoggish and unprofessional behaviour of some members of staff” even towards one of their own colleagues.

The feeling of hopelessness was laid bare in a 17-page pre-action protocol letter sent to the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) by attorneys of Freedom Law Chambers led by Anand Ramlogan, SC. The pre-action letter, on behalf of Natasha Samuel, is part of a class action lawsuit for 11 babies who died between February and April 9.

The legal letter detailed that on March 13, Samuel gave birth via Caesarean section to a baby girl named Skiye Wilson after 32 weeks gestation. The neonate weighed 835 grammes and was placed in NICU for observation.

Samuel said she felt betrayed by her own colleagues after they told her that her child was “well and progressing nicely.” She added that after some time she saw fewer babies at the NICU and was told that the infants had been discharged as they got better. It was only sometime after that she learnt that six other babies had died all from bacterial sepsis.

Samuel said her sense of betrayal worsened after she was given two reports by the Port-of-Spain General Hospital with differing causes of death signed by two separate doctors.