KINGSTON, Jamaica — A mother is shattered, four days after her 12-year-old daughter was allegedly denied treatment for a urinary tract infection (UTI) by a doctor at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital on the basis of her child’s age. 

But the woman is contending that the website of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), under which the hospital falls, indicates that the medical family caters to children up to 12 years old.

“With a bed capacity of 253, this remarkable institution caters to patients from birth to 12 years, providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and ambulatory services in paediatric medical and surgical specialities and sub-specialties,” stated the SERHA website. 

Despite that confirmation, and the intense abdominal pain her daughter suffered from Monday night, the woman, who asked for her identity to be withheld due to her profession as a nurse, said the doctor refused to give her child medication, despite examining her initially.

“Him not even say go to the treatment room and let them give her some panadol. Nothing at all. That is inhumane! You have no compassion! You shouldn’t be in health care, because this tells me you don’t care about the patient. What about the patient’s right to treatment? What about that?” questioned the peeved woman.

“Dem need to do better than this. What is it? Yuh take some 12 years old and don’t take some because of them height? Foolishness!” she added. 

The woman, in an interview with OBSERVER ONLINE on Friday, explained that on Monday, her daughter complained of extreme abdominal pains, which made her unable to walk. 

By 11 o’clock, the pains intensified and she and her husband opted to take her to the Bustamante Children’s Hospital, “because she is 12, and I think it is a more child friendly place than another hospital”, the woman explained.

Before leaving, she packed her child’s birth certificate as proof of her child’s age, because she was five feet, six inches tall, which she indicated was tall for her age. 

On arrival at the hospital, the woman said she spoke to two nurses. 

“When I went there, two nurses were at the desk and they asked how old she was. 

We said that she is 12, and one said, ‘Mommy you’re at the wrong hospital’. The other nurse started to laugh, which I found weird, because you guys take children at 12 (years old), and I asked, ‘What age do you stop?’, and they said 12,” the woman recalled.

Unaware that the distressed woman was a nurse herself, the two nurses enquired of her daughter’s complaint.

After revealing that she suspected that her daughter had UTI, the nurses sent her daughter to do a urinary test. It was later confirmed that her daughter did indeed have UTI.

Sometime later, the concerned mother’s daughter was allowed to see a doctor.

“I eventually went into the doctor, and he asked how old is she. I told him that she is 12. He then asked what’s happening with her, and I told him, and he examined her. 

Then he said to me, ‘You have to take her to KPH (Kingston Public Hospital), because we don’t see children who is 12’. I said, ‘I don’t understand you. You just examined her’. He said, ‘Is either you take her to KPH or a clinic in the morning’,” she recounted. 

In attempting once more to get medical help for daughter, the woman said she outlined that her child was in extreme pain and could not walk. Further, she asked if he was going to give her something for the pain.

To her amazement, she claimed that the doctor responded, “No”, and insisted that she had to take her daughter to KPH. 

“He was rude, and even the little girl was asking, ‘Why he was behaving like that’,” she alleged.

“I said, ‘Okay, thank you,’ the woman shared, adding, “I left him (the doctor) there, and I took her home and administered some pain killers and took her to a private doctor the next day. 

“Even that doctor was upset, and expressing that she didn’t understand the doctor’s stance,” the woman said.

In light of the treatment meted out to her and her daughter, the nurse is calling for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to remove the age limit of birth to 12 from its website for children to receive medical care at Bustamante Children’s Hospital. 

“They need to remove from the website that they take children at 12. Currently, there was a young man that was pronounced dead at age 12. Why would he be pronounced dead there if they don’t accept children who are 12 years old?” questioned the enraged parent.

“I don’t understand and it is unfair and it needs to stop, because it can happen to another parent and that child dies. If you have a patient, treat them,” she demanded.

“Her (my daughter’s) bladder was swollen so she was in pain… They never asked what year she born or what month. She is 12 years and 11 months, and the website said 12 years. Is either them edit it or something. This cannot work,” she lamented. 

She added: “A pain kill people enuh, and a mean she (my daughter) was feeling really bad pain. Mi mean she couldn’t walk. I haven’t bathe her in years and I had to give her a shower myself. She couldn’t help herself.” 

Asked whether she has reached out to anyone in authority at the medical facility, the woman said she spoke to a doctor briefly, but could not air her grouse, as that medical personnel said she was heading into a meeting at that time.

“I want it to be highlighted that you do not mislead the public, because the website is misleading saying that… they accept 12 years old children, but they are not accepting them. I mean, if so, let it be documented. 

“Don’t tell me that we gonna see your child, examine her, test her urine, and then we nah go see her. We nah do nutten fi her. We ago just send her back home or go elsewhere. That cannot be right!” declared the upset mother. 

Attempts to get a comment from Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton on the issue proved futile, as his phone went unanswered. 

When contacted, SERHA’s Public Relations Officer, Shuwana Johnson, confirmed that the Bustamante Children’s Hospital caters to children from birth to 12 years.  

She explained, too, that children over the age of 12 would be recommended to other health care facilities for treatment. 

In response to the particular case at hand, Johnson said the parent could have shared her issues with a patient affairs personnel. 

“I don’t know why they would reject her (the child)… but I am confirming it is from birth to 12 years, but any age over that, yes, they refer them to KPH, or other public hospitals,” she said. 

Johnson referred the OBSERVER ONLINE to Senior Medical Officer at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital, Dr Michelle-Ann Dawson.

When contacted, Dawson said she would not be able to facilitate an interview, as she was out of office for the day attending to personal matters.