Dailin de Moya Escalona, the general director of Public Health in the municipality of Palma Soriano, has assigned responsibility for the reported medical negligence affecting a seven-month-old Cuban infant, Lian Coronado Babastro. The baby underwent emergency surgery this Tuesday at La Colonia Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, after receiving multiple dipyrone injections that resulted in an abscess on his buttock and inflammation in his legs and testicles. He suffered an infection that nearly cost him his life.
According to the head of the health system in that Santiago municipality, the only ones to blame for what happened are the family doctors who provided primary care to the child before he was admitted with a fever to the Juan Vitalio Acuña Hospital in Palma Soriano. The hospital administered dipyrone injections to reduce the fever, which the family claims was due to a reaction to the six-month vaccination, but the hospital interpreted it as a viral process.
Dailin de Moya has swiftly decided that the doctors at the clinic, who did not intervene during the five days the child was hospitalized until he deteriorated and had to be transferred to intensive care at La Colonia in Santiago, should be penalized with a 5% deduction from their monthly salary.
The child's uncle, Lixander Babastro, who resides in the United States, wrote last week to the Council of State and the Ministry of Public Health, denouncing the poor care his nephew was receiving at the children's hospital in Palma Soriano. None of the tests conducted detected that the child had a hemoglobin level of 6, requiring an urgent transfusion upon arriving in critical condition at the pediatric hospital in the provincial capital.
These letters and the news published the same Tuesday on CiberCuba set everything in motion in Palma Soriano, but the blame has been unfairly shifted. "They blamed the primary care doctors, who had nothing to do with what happened to the child. They imposed a 5% salary cut on them when the culprits are the nursing and medical team at the pediatric hospital and the municipal director for their poor performance. The family doctors have nothing to do with the penalty they imposed. But as the saying goes, they want to pass the buck," lamented the baby's recently operated uncle.
Lixander Babastro himself has contacted the Provincial Directorate of Public Health to explain that they are blaming the wrong doctors, but his opinion has not been considered. According to Babastro, it is Dailin de Moya herself who should take responsibility for lying to his family in Cuba, assuring them that she had requested an ambulance to transfer the child to Santiago, although she hadn't made any arrangements. When discovered, she told the family that the baby was not the most severe case in that hospital and to avoid constant complaints, she declared them "persona non grata" and barred them from entering the pediatric hospital.
It was Dailin de Moya's decision that the child stayed in Palma Soriano for 24 more hours after the inflammation of his extremities and testicles was detected, leading him to arrive directly at intensive care at La Colonia in critical condition. The child's uncle continues to demand explanations and has contacted the health authorities in Santiago de Cuba by phone, but being outside the country, he was told that they would only provide explanations to someone residing on the island.
Key Questions Surrounding the Negligence Case of Lian Coronado Babastro
In light of the serious allegations of medical negligence and the subsequent penalties imposed, several critical questions arise. Here are some key inquiries and their answers.
Why were the family doctors penalized in the case of Lian Coronado Babastro?
The family doctors were penalized for not intervening during the five days the child was hospitalized before his condition worsened, leading to his transfer to intensive care. They received a 5% deduction from their monthly salary.
What was the reaction of Lian Coronado Babastro's family to the penalties?
The family, particularly Lian's uncle Lixander Babastro, expressed frustration and disagreement with the penalties, arguing that the family doctors were not to blame and that the responsibility lies with the medical and nursing teams at the pediatric hospital and the municipal health director.
What actions did Lixander Babastro take following the medical negligence?
Lixander Babastro wrote to the Council of State and the Ministry of Public Health to denounce the poor care his nephew received. He also contacted the Provincial Directorate of Public Health to explain that the wrong doctors were being blamed.