Trinidadian mother sues NWRHA over newborn's death due to alleged ICU denial

Trinidad and Tobago: A 37-year-old Trinidadian mother, Wendy Bravo, has sued the North West Regional Health Authority for not admitting her newborn, Lilly, to the Neonatal ICU of Port of Spain General Hospital. She said that her daughter died because she did not get any treatment from the medical officials. The woman is a resident of Diego Martin and reported that her newborn baby died on February 11 at the Port of Spain General Hospital. According to the reports, the attorneys of Bravo sent a letter to the NWRHA claiming that their client delivered the baby at 26 weeks on February 9. The letter stated that following the birth of her baby, Wendy Bravo was happy to hear her daughter’s cries, but soon after, the midwife told her that the child’s lungs had not developed properly and she had only two hours to live. The letter also claimed that this sensitive thing was told to their client in a very rude manner. The attorneys said that the baby lived for two days, and during the whole time, she was denied access to the NICU, despite multiple requests by her mother. Her mother said that the child could have been saved if given proper treatment, but because the health officials believed that she couldn’t be saved, they didn’t even try. The letter also noted that no doctor, intern, or nurse tried to examine the baby’s heartbeat or vitals after her birth. The authorities abandoned the child and her mother and did not provide any medical support, it added. In addition to this, it was also reported that the infant’s birth was never registered, and the cause of the death was stated to be a spontaneous miscarriage, which the mother denied as the child was born at 26 weeks and not at 20 weeks. It is to be noted that in the last two weeks, the NWRHA has received many pre-action protocol letters after the death of seven babies between April 4 and 9 due to a bacterial infection at the NICU. Parents of more than 12 babies have come forward to claim that their newborn died because of negligence by the medical officials of NWRHA.