Government blames mother for death of six-month-old baby in Havana

The Cuban Government this Saturday blamed the mother of a six-month-old baby who recently died in Havana for the tragic outcome, for "ignoring medical indications."

The profile inFacebook on behalf of "Elizabeth Ferrer" – government spokesperson – stated that "the health authorities are not responsible for this tragedy, since the medical staff acted promptly by giving him immediate attention and, upon assessing the seriousness of the condition, referred the child to the Pediatric Hospital of Havana Center to receive specialized care."

"However, the baby's mother decided to withdraw and take him back home, ignoring medical instructions," says the publication, which attaches a document with the admission recommendation.

The child's mother assured in statements toCuba DNA that they never gave him that referral, and that when the child was in the pediatric hospital in Centro Habana, the medication schedule was not followed, since the child had to be given a dose of rocephin at 6:00 pm and they went to set at 09:00 pm.

The official profile states that "responsibility lies in the lack of collaboration and awareness of those who have the health and well-being of the little ones in their hands" and assures that it is "essential to highlight that the tragedy was due to the mother's refusal to follow medical instructions" and "not to the lack of action on the part of the health authorities."

The day before, the case of thisbaby died as a result of respiratory arrest.

Magaly Sánchez, the baby's mother, exploded with indignation in the vicinity of the Tomás Romay polyclinic, in Old Havana, and denounced alleged medical negligence at that hospital.

He stated that he had to take the child home to give him salbutamol and give him oxygen because at the polyclinic they only gave him two drops of a medication that the minor did not even ingest correctly.

A video published on social networks by the independent media ADN showed a group of relatives gathered around the polyclinic after the tragic outcome of the minor.

The young woman, visibly upset, said that she had been poorly cared for since she was pregnant and that it was not the first time that she had problems with the health care of her little son.

She also reported that at the polyclinic they threatened to accuse her of negligence for supposedly not complying with the doctors' instructions.

According to the woman – in the midst of marked excitement – the baby had been given an excessive dose of rocephin, an antibiotic used to combat bacterial infections.