While most people brought in the New Year with drinks, fireworks and a big celebration a Corozal mother, Leah Miller was at the hospital with her sick 11 week old baby boy. He fell ill early New Year’s Day and his mom rushed him to the Corozal hospital. But, she says, they gave her the run around and the baby died. Miller says if the hospital staff had attended to her properly her baby would still be alive. Here is more from the baby’s parents.
Leah Miller - Mother
"My baby started with diarrhea 12 o'clock midnight and I went to the emergency, I called a taxi and went to the emergency to Corozal Hospital. I went inside the emergency and the nurse that was sitting behind the desk, I went to her and I said good morning nurse I bring my baby because he has diarrhea and vomitting and she told me there is no doctor to attend you right now so you will have to go over to the clinic to get a number for the doctor to attend to you. So I went and I sat like 2 hours before the doctor called me to go in and see him and like 15 minutes after he told me to go with him to the observation room. So I went to the observation room and the nurse that was to attend the baby she came to attend the baby and she hold his little hand and she said she cannot find to vein, the veins were already closed and she told me this baby doesn't look good, I'm going to call the doctor right now because you have to go to emergency. So she went and call the doctor and the doctor came and he walked ahead of us and she told me come let's go across to emergency and when we went across to emergency the other nurses that was working across emergency they came and they started to give the baby oxygen and check his heart and like 15 minutes after a nurse came to me and took the baby away from me and she said that she will take him into the trauma room and from then I never see my baby until they show me that he's dead. According to the autopsy, they said he died because of dehydration right that he was there so long without nothing."
Reporter
"But you guys believe that the hopital had given your baby a little bit better care, things could have been different?"
Leah Miller
"Yes because when I reach to emergency, he still was sucking his baba and he was lively, he was lively when I gone to emergency. So I don't know, it's when we reach across there that he start get more complicated. Right now the way how I feel, I can't explain it."
Reporter
"Do you think that somebody at the hospital should be responsible?"
Leah Miller
"Yes, that same nurse because she could have done better and gone and call a doctor to come and see the baby."
Dion Woodeye - Father
"What I would want to happen - please emergency, is an emergency, no send nobody to the clinic, they should have a doctor that is taking care of a child or someone is sick because an emergency should be an emergency and I think that it has to be legal recourse because it will never stop."
Due to time constraints we were unable to get comment from the Ministry of Health today - but we hope to have that for you tomorrow.
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