A mix-up between two outpatients' names at the San Fernando General Hospital resulted in a 13-year-old child having eye surgery meant for the other.

The boy, Stephan Thomas, now 14, has since undergone corrective surgeries at the hospital, but his mother Latoiya Moses, 33, said his eye condition has not improved.

She has taken legal action against the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), accusing staff of negligence.

Her attorneys, Prakash Ramadhar, Ted Roopnarine and others have sent a pre-action protocol letter to SWRHA’s legal department on December 17.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday at Ramadhar’s office in San Fernando, Moses, a single mother from Couva, said her only child has a "squint" eye (his left eye).

[caption id="attachment_936466" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Stephan Thomas, 14, an eye patient, on Wednesday morning speaks to the press in the presence of his lawyers. Attorneys Prakash Ramadhar and Ted Roopnarine are taking legal action against the South-West Regional Health Authority for negligence over an eye procedure. - Photo by Marvin Hamilton[/caption]

On January 11, she accompanied him to the hospital’s eye clinic and when his name was called, a staff member said he needed laser surgery. She filled out and signed several documents consenting to the procedure.

She later found out the laser treatment was intended for someone named Stephon Thomas, who has a cataract, and not for Stephan Thomas.

The same day, doctors gave her prescriptions and discharged him.

"They told me his natural lens was damaged and gave me prescriptions," she said.

A few days later, he complained about not seeing out of the damaged eye and she returned to the hospital.

On January 19, Stephan had surgery. Moses said his eye condition worsened, he was in pain, and the eye was swollen.

In May last year, he was hospitalised for 14 days. Four months later, in September, Stephan had yet more surgery, this time because the lens previously put in his eye was the wrong size.

With tears running down her face, Moses said she felt like she failed to protect her child.

She added, "I am not condemning anybody, but something like this made me realise that even if we think someone is qualified and know what they are doing, we could still ask a question. We have all the rights to do so.

"For me, I had failed to do that, and now my son is in a position where I am not sure that I would get the support that I needed just by coming here (at the conference) today. I just want my son to have a normal life again."

Stephan, a form one student at Couva West Secondary School, still attends the clinic for his original condition.

"We always argue when it comes to going to the hospital for every appointment. This is something that affects us mentally and psychologically. It is unbearable," Moses said.

Owing to sensitivity to light and other factors in his damaged eye, Stephan says he cannot play with his only friend, a dog named Blackie.

The soft-spoken boy said people usually made fun of him