It is accepted that no matter how hard human beings try, mistakes will occur, because people aren’t perfect. But that’s little or no consolation when one is the victim of a mistake, as was the case last week when a grieving mother went to the KHMH (Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital) morgue to collect her deceased child, to bury him, and found that the child had been given to another grieving family, who had cremated him. All this added to the agonizing reflection that the child needn’t have died, that the child might have been saved if the appropriate medical care was given when the 34-weeks pregnant mother visited the hospital complaining of bleeding.

The mother might have received better medical attention if she had gone to a private hospital, and the end of the story might have been different. But regular folk have difficulty footing the bill at private hospitals. Had the family known how critical the situation was, most likely they would have “found the money” to pay the bill at a private hospital, to give their unborn child the best chance at life. However, sometimes it is not an easy call, even for doctors, to determine the urgency of a medical situation.

The KHMH has its detractors, and the recent failure didn’t help. It is generally accepted that the hospital would perform better if it had more funding. Despite our government’s claims that the main economic indicators are positive, our economy isn’t doing all that well. Countries like ours have been hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Europe between two of the present rulers of the world, the Russians and the western-backed Ukraine, has caused further economic strain. Thus, the government has to curtail spending, “cut corners” where it can, and the KHMH is one of our institutions that feel the “pinch.”

Nurses at the KHMH and public hospitals across the country say they oftentimes have to improvise to make up for a lack of medical equipment and supplies. As concerning or more so is that sometimes the public pharmacy doesn’t have the necessary medicines on hand. The importation and sale of prescription drugs is a lucrative business. Trading Economics, at the website tradingeconomics.com, said that the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade reported that during 2022 Belize imported US$19.68 million worth of pharmaceutical products. It has been reported that the procurement of prescription drugs for our hospitals and private pharmacies is a plum for favored friends of politicians in power. Belize seems to like Senate investigations, and one for the purchasing of medicines and equipment and supplies might be a good thing, to ensure that we are getting the best deal.

Despite the difficulties they face, medical personnel in public employ soldier on. The performance of the KHMH during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic was sterling. Only the Lord knows how much worse the death toll would have been, had it not been for the tireless efforts of our doctors and nurses, their selflessness and dedication in the face of extended hours at work and great personal danger. Doctors died, and nurses died, and we can only hope that our government continues to give support to their families, on the people’s behalf, for the great sacrifices they made.

Compounding the problems brought on by a budget that even in the best of economic times hasn’t been sufficient, is a workload that for more than two decades has been comparable to what doctors and nurses in war zones experience. There are far too many accidents and violent expressions of anger in our country, and most of the casualties of this negligence and violence end up at public hospitals, most often at the KHMH.

High-speed driving is a badge of honor among too many of our people. Accidents will happen, it’s a fact of life, but too many speed-crazed drivers are out there increasing the odds for one happening. And every time there is a crash, the wounded most often end up at a public hospital, and if the injuries are serious, life-threatening, at the emergency ward at the KHMH.

From time to time the Transport Department conducts safety exercises, and on public holidays concerned organizations issue pamphlets with driving tips for drivers. Some private businesses, such as ADM Mills Ltd., reward workers who prioritize safety and publicly celebrate their success. Belizeans must become more conscious of the cost of recklessness; every effort must be made to ensure order, sanity in our country. Driving at high speed endangers others and ourselves, increases the odds that we will end up in the hospital. Increasing the workload of our already maxed-out KHMH doctors and nurses must be roundly condemned.

More than anyone else, KHMH staff must pray that our young men put down the guns. The extremely high number of young casualties they have to attend to, many of whom they watch die, taxes their energies and drives down their morale. A number of staff at the KHMH must have at some point or other been directly touched, through relationships either with victims or their murderous attackers. It must take its toll, and until they get numb to it, if that is possible, they must develop a special regimen to keep them going, so they don’t quit, so they don’t snap and go crazy.

There was failure at the hospital. The parents of a child are in anguish, one – because urgent attention might have saved their little one, and two – because of the cremation fiasco. The lawyers are lining up to see who will get the job to sue the KHMH, for redress for the wounded parents, and to teach the KHMH a lesson, to drive the hospital to do better, to be better. But how, when the staff is taxed to the max? Our casual approach and disrespect for life and limb must end. We shoot and chop and maim and crash, and it all ends up at the KHMH. And the staff there, they must be drained.

But, what happened shouldn’t have happened. A breakdown in the simple task of properly tagging a deceased person ended up piling on considerable pain on a grieving family. Internally, the KHMH must find out why it happened, and if staff need to be redeployed, to areas where they are better suited, or whatever, the hospital’s management must do everything to prevent another lapse. The rest of us, all of us, must take stock of what’s going on in our country.

All the casualties end up at the KHMH, increasing the load, the trauma of the staff there.