Husband of woman who bled to death unhappy with hospital
By Chua Su Sien / Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 July 2007 2130 hrs
Madam Swee Lay Kuan
SINGAPORE: The management staff of Raffles Hospital held a meeting on Thursday morning with family members of the woman who bled to death after giving birth to a pair of twins.
But the husband of the late Madam Swee Lay Kuan went away with more questions than answers.
Mr Jason Low was not satisfied with the hospital's response.
He said that the hospital had caused unnecessary anxiety, when its staff told him to find blood donors for his wife, who needed a massive transfusion.
Said Mr Low, "When I saw the Blood Bank statement and their reply, I realised all that was totally uncalled for. The problem is the hospital is not well informed. And they gave me wrong information."
Raffles Hospital has told Mr Low that it is conducting an internal inquiry into his wife's death.
Mr Low was also told by the doctors that his wife's placenta was 'stuck to her womb'.
He is demanding an answer to why the hospital's earlier scans had not detected this.
Mr Low has two other daughters aged 17 and 11.
And for now, the 42-year old can only take comfort in the fact that his twins, who were born prematurely, are doing well at the Intensive Care Unit at the Singapore General Hospital. - CNA/yy
Blood shortage was not cause of death: Raffles Hospital
By Ng Baoying/Chua Su Sien, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 July 2007 2214 hrs
SINGAPORE: The woman who died after giving birth to twins over the weekend was not denied blood, and her death was not because there was insufficient blood available at the time, according to Raffles Hospital.
It explained that an emergency blood transfusion was immediately started for Madam Swee Lay Kuan when massive bleeding occurred during surgery.
More blood was also immediately obtained from the blood bank.
The hospital said Madam Swee's death was due to Disseminated Intra-vascular Coagulopathy (DIVC), an acute blood coagulation problem arising from massive bleeding and transfusion.
On Tuesday, it was reported that her husband had been told by hospital staff that if the family wanted more blood, they would have to round up others to donate some at the blood bank.
But Raffles Hospital clarified that while it is common practice to ask relatives and well-wishers to help replenish stock, it is never a requirement for blood to be released by the blood bank.
This is a stand supported by the blood bank.
Dr Diana Teo, Bloodbank@HSA, Centre for Transfusion Medicine, Health Sciences Authority, said: "It is not customary for the blood banks to request that hospitals ask family and friends to come forward to donate blood.
"However, we do know that some hospitals do try to help the blood programme by asking some of the patients to ask their family to come and support us. But I assure you that this is never a requirement from the blood bank." - CNA/yy
Husband of woman who bled to death unhappy with hospital 
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