Tonight is one week since Cenaida Raymundo’s newborn baby boy died at the KHMH and two weeks after she had to deliver him herself while at the Punta Gorda Town Hospital. Raymundo blames the hospital because she says she was screaming for help during delivery but no one came to help. She delivered four and a half pound boy on her own and the umbilical cord around his neck strangled him - ultimately contributing to his quick death.
The controversial birth was followed by a string list of missteps by the public healthcare system which included an ambulance breaking down on the way from Dangriga to Belize City, the lack of an available ventilator, and the KHMH telling Cenaida Raymundo that she had to put her dead newborn into a bag and take him home to Punta Gorda on a bus. CEO in the Ministry of Health Dr. Peter Allen says an investigation is underway but stressed that there are two sides to a story.
Dr. Peter Allen, CEO – Ministry of Health
“I have been informed and it is a tragic case indeed. The Director of Health Services is leading the investigation. I know that a summary report has been prepared and today interviews are being held with staff at Southern Regional Hospital. I know also interviews are being held with staff at Karl Heusner today. Yesterday investigators were in Punta Gorda and were able to speak to the mother of the baby. I really don’t know the details at the moment but I can assure you that the Ministry will make sure that we have a full investigation conducted and that we make the findings known to everybody.”
A post mortem has since certified the baby boy’s cause of death as cerebral hemorrhage.
