Region One still without anti-venom after two-year-old’s death

Anti-venom, which is used to treat venomous bites and stings, remains unavailable in Region One as Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley says a request for the medication is yet to be fulfilled by the Ministry of Public Health’s Materials Management Unit (MMU).

Ashley told Stabroek News that the MMU’s failure to fulfill the request indicates that there is no effective management and organization at the agency.

Ashley noted that for several months the region has been forced to purchase drugs needed at its health institutions.

He explained further that the region has raised concerns with Public Health officials, including Minister Volda Lawrence, but the situation is still to be remedied.

In July, a two-year-old died after being stung by a scorpion at Mabaruma and his family believed that his life could have been saved if the local hospital had the medication to treat him.

Romero Lucian died hours after being stung and the postmortem examination confirmed the cause of his death to have been respiratory failure.

After being stung, the child was immediately taken to the hospital at Mabaruma, where he was administered saline and oxygen and given medication to stop vomiting he was experiencing at the time.

Lucian had to be air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital for additional medical treatment. The family said they had to wait hours before the medivac arrived to transport the child.

They maintained that if the anti-venom medication to treat the sting was available at the hospital, the child’s life could have been saved.