Guyana: Family blames hospital for 22-year-old Ronicia Niles’ death after emergency delays

Guyana: The untimely death of 22-year-old Ronicia Niles of Kaneville, Grove, East Bank Demerara, has been drawing serious concerns from public after family members blamed the hospital staff for negligence and said, “She could have been saved.” 

According to the information, the family members of the deceased claimed that there were delays and equipment challenges during her emergency medical treatment on the night of Tuesday.  

It is being said that Niles started experiencing breathing issues just after 11 pm on Tuesday and was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre in Guyana. Upon arrival, family members said that they experienced significant delays at the entrance of the facility which included procedural questions from security and a request to park outside which further added time to the emergency.  

Once inside the hospital, the 22-year-old was attended to by nurses and transferred into a treatment room. Information received by credible sources claim that she struggled to respond to initial intake questions and asked staff to allow her family to assist.  

Just a few moments later, the deceased allegedly collapsed and was then immediately referred to the main hospital of Guyana, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for further treatment.  

During the shifting process, relatives claim that the journey was difficult due to poor road condition and what they believe was limited access to oxygen. They further claimed that during her time at Diamond, one nebulizer mask was being used for multiple patients.  

Upon reaching the Georgetown hospital, doctors initially informed the family that female was showing signs of brain injury and was moved to the ICU for treatment, however she was later pronounced dead around 8 am on the morning of Wednesday.  

While the Ministry of Health of Guyana has not yet commented on the incident, but the family is looking forward to answers from them and the hospital staff.  

The incident has sent shockwaves across the country with locals calling upon the staff to come out and speak.  

“That's so true I was there, and they don't have all the equipment to do blood n urine test so is back to square one u gone again,” wrote a user named Sheneese Nagessar while another said, “Sad. My deepest condolences to her entire family and friends. Brain injury and then they don’t really have the treatment for certain brain problems like for emergencies.”