Lister breaks silence on baby Vaah - Our Concern
Source : Daily Graphic, Wednesday, May 19, 2010

On 29th April, 2010, our attention was drawn to a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report on the death of our baby Nyilale Vaah at Lister Hospital as a result of negligence and incompetence of the medical staff. We have taken note that the GNA report was prepared as a result of a press statement released by Lister Hospital. 

First of all, thank you Ghana for the tremendous support you have shown us and pledged towards better maternal and child health. We are left without a doubt that the people of Ghana absolutely care about maternal and child health in this country of ours. 

We have been compelled to respond to Lister’s press statement as it only sought to throw dust into our eyes and those of the public. We also have found it necessary to respond as Lister made a public request for the publication of the postmortem report prepared by Prof. Yao Tetteh, the Pathologist friend of Dr. Hiadzi, the Medical Director at Lister Hospital.
 
We have read with disdain the said report by Lister Hospital seeking to blame the death of our baby Nyilale Vaah junior at the hands of medical personnel at Lister Hospital on a rare bleeding diasthesis or Coagulation defect.

As we rededicate ourselves to the cause of better maternal and child health to prevent needless loss of human lives, we have the following questions for Lister Hospital to answer and for the Ghanaian public to reflect on:

* How come Lister told the world that the post mortem report was made available to the Vaahs through their lawyers on Thursday, 8th April, 2010 only for us to pursue them through several phone calls before same was delivered on Monday 12th April, 2010?

* Since Lister Hospital denies that Elizabeth was in labour when we arrived at their hospital at 11pm on the night of Monday, March 8, 2010, when by their own account did her labour start, and what was the duration?

* What is the STANDARD protocol regarding induction/augmentation of labour using Oxytocin and how did Lister Hospital perform compared to the standard protocol?

* At what point did anyone at Lister determine the level/extent of Elizabeth’s dilation?

* What is the STANDARD protocol regarding fetal heart monitoring?

* When was Nyilale Vaah’s heartbeat last checked between the time we arrived at the hospital and the time he was delivered on the admission bed?

* Would a live baby being monitored (a la Lister) just die without health personnel being aware of it? What if the heartbeat was being monitored? Would a change in the baby’s heartbeat not have sent clues of danger?

* What, if anything did medical personnel do to our baby during the first five critical minutes of his birth?

* How many babies have been given Lister Hospital’s type of EXCELLENT SERVICE as was meted out to us and our son between the hours of March 8, 2010 at 11pm and March 9 2010 at 3.30pm and survived?

* Why would Lister Hospital gleefully release the post mortem diagnosis to the public without consulting us, and at the same time refuse to release Elizabeth’s medical records because of our “recourse to the media”?

These questions largely reflect the views and questions posed to us by ordinary members of the public who are worried about the extent of the neglect we suffered at Lister Hospital. We respect their views!

We are appalled at the level of intellectual dishonesty that is being displayed by Lister Hospital. We again stand by our position that Lister Hospital is responsible for the death of our baby boy, and will continue to use all legitimate means possible to obtain justice for our son and ensure that people who care about the type of medical care they receive are not taken for granted. For the shameless who are part of the intellectual dishonesty game, remember, you are not the monopoly of medical and pathological knowledge.

We again wish to express our gratitude to the numerous persons around the world who have pledged their support to our cause. Through the Vaah Junior Foundation, we will contribute our widow’s mite to the prevention of needless maternal and child deaths in Ghana.
Further information and a detailed account of events culminating in the fresh stillbirth of our son, Nyilale Vaah Junior and Lister Hospital’s own account are available on the “Share your experience” page of the Vaah Junior Foundation website www.vaahjuniorfoundation.org.