Gemanfushi Health Centre accused of negligence in infant’s death

GA. Gemanafushi Health Centre has been accused of negligence in connection with the death of an infant treated by the health centre

The infant – a seven-month-old boy – died last Wednesday.

His father, Hussain Shahbadh, told Sun that the boy was initially taken to the Gemanafushi Health Centre on April 11th due to a runny nose. At the time, doctors advised to nebulize with IV fluids. Three days later, last Tuesday, the boy was brought back to the hospital. The doctors then altered the treatment plan, prescribed a medication, and recommended a test.

Shahbadh detailed that the family returned home after the test was administered, as the result was set to be available at 20:00pm that night.

Shahbadh said the boy began crying as they were preparing to head back to the health centre. Subsequently, the boy was rushed back to the health centre at 19:50pm, where a nurse who was on duty at that time, nebulized the boy.

Nevertheless, Shahbadh said the boy kept repeatedly crying, His mother, alongside a friend who was present at the hospital, checked the boy’s stomach and ears as they could not figure out what was exactly hurting the boy.

“The nurse called a doctor because our son’s pain was getting worse,” he added.

Shahbadh said the doctor came and began treating the boy at approximately 20:00pm. He noted that the parents had told the doctor the boy had eaten something outside of his usual diet, which they suspected might have caused gas. However, the doctor dismissed their concerns.

According to Shahbadh, the doctor proceeded to perform a nasal irrigation on the boy, using a syringe and IV fluid. He said initially, only IV fluid was flushed out from the boy’s nose.

Shahbadh detailed that the procedure was repeated four times, and on the fifth attempt, when the IV fluid was plunged into the boy’s right nostril, blood was flushed out from the left nostril alongside IV fluid. Immediately afterwards, the boy had become physically inactive, he added.

“I noticed that my son was shaking and suffering a lot every time the syringe was plunged. I was with him. Following the fifth plunge, there was no physical activity from my son. The doctor then rushed to administer an injection,” he recalled.

While an infant usually cries when an injection is administered, Shahbadh said his son had no reaction when the doctor administered the injection.

Shortly afterwards, Shahbadh said the boy profusely vomited. The nurses cleaned up the mess and began hitting the boy on his back, because he was not breathing.

“When hooked up to the machines at that moment, there was a faint heartbeat. But the line ran flat just a mere moment later. I began crying, saying my child has died,”

He said the doctor returned and immediately began performing CPR, eventually stating that the boy’s condition had improved. The boy was then transferred to GA. Villingili Hospital for further treatment, accompanied by medical staff. The transfer was made on a speedboat arranged by Shahbadh’s family.

“On the speedboat, my lovely son, who is so fair, had turned completely blue. During the journey, his pupils rolled upwards—and at one point, I saw them stop moving entirely. The doctors and nurses then worked on him and said he was okay now,” Shahbadh recalled.

The boy was taken to the hospital immediately upon arriving in Villingili and was admitted for treatment. Shahbadh stressed that the family was not made aware of any treatment which was given to the boy, adding they were left clueless regarding the condition of son.

Amidst this, Shahbadh said a nurse approached him with a consent form to place the boy on a ventilator, requesting his signature. Although authorization is required beforehand, Shahbadh, citing the nurse, said his signature had not been sought before his son was put on ventilator support due to the urgency of the situation. As he refused to sign it, the form was instead signed by his wife.

Villingilli Hospital recommended a head CT scan and lung CT for boy, and arranged for the boy’s transportation to Male’ via air ambulance for the purpose at dawn on Wednesday.

The boy was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Wednesday morning. According to Shahbadh, doctors at the hospital informed him that the child’s heart had already stopped by the time he arrived. Efforts were made to revive him by performing CPR and increasing the dosage of antibiotics.

However, after 45 minutes of continuous CPR without any signs of recovery, the boy was declared dead.

“I was extremely heartbroken. The only test [my son] had undergone ever after falling ill had been the test on April 15^th. We have not received the results of the tests from Villingili or Malé. All I have now is his death certificate,” the grieving father said.

Shahbadh accused the Gemanafushi Health Centre of negligence in his son's death. He has already filed a police complaint and given his statement as part of the investigation. He is also in the process of drafting a formal document to present the case to the Health Ministry.

“My son died due to GA. Gemafushi Health Centre's negligence. Even if I am alone, I will fight for justice for my son,” he added.

Neither Gemafushi Health Centre nor Health Ministry has commented on the case as of present.