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Namibia: Ministry Still Mum on Malpractice Complaint
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
14 April 2008
Posted to the web 14 April 2008
Christof Maletsky
Windhoek
Five years after her daughter lost her womb because of alleged negligence at the Windhoek Central Hospital's maternity ward, the mother of a young woman is still waiting for the Ministry of Health's official reaction on the incident.
Her daughter (20), a Grade 10 student, gave birth normally to a baby girl on March 13 2003 but was taken to an operating theatre soon afterwards because of excessive haemorrhaging. She bled for the next four days and was later transferred to the intensive care unit with an enlarged heart and kidney failure. On the fifth day, a gynaecologist was called in and found that the young woman had an infection in her uterus because part of the placenta had not been expelled. Surgeons, while operating, found a section of placenta stuck near the cervix and had to perform a hysterectomy (removal of the womb). The woman's mother, a trained nurse, said she intended to file a N$20 million lawsuit for damages.
"Her future is black with no hope of settling with her dream man as husband. We all know that our society is not that understanding [for a man] to marry someone who cannot bear fruits for him," the mother said. She filed a complaint in 2003, which was forwarded to the Office of the Government Attorney.She also laid charges with the Interim Nursing Council but to no avail. In fact, when she went back to the Nursing Council in January 2006, she was informed that they were not even aware of her case. After reviewing her second submission, the Nursing Council told her that they had no authority to deal with the case and referred her back to the Ministry.
The mother said she submitted her case through the Ministry's customer care centre but was recently informed that her papers were missing. She has since submitted another bunch of documents in November 2007 through the Office of the Permanent Secretary, but she says there has been no reply to date.
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