The Voice (Francistown)
6 May 2008
A grieving Francistown family has accused Nyangabgwe Hospital of gross negligence and a cover up over the tragic death of their baby daughter last Friday.
Just two days after being told that their child was a healthy baby, little Dinah Chaikhwa Mbulai passed away in distressing circumstances.
Shocking allegations of negligence against Francistown's Nyangabgwe Hospital will only add to its unfortunate reputation as a 'slaughter house.'
Thirty-nine-year-old Gift Mbulai claims that his newborn baby died after nurses failed to provide proper care and attention. Speaking to The Voice this week the devastated father described his turbulent emotions after initially being told he had a healthy baby daughter.
"I was excited and relieved because she was a month premature and my wife had to deliver via a caesarean," he said.
The day after the operation, and with his wife still recovering in the ward, he claimed that when visiting on the chilly Sunday morning, he found his daughter crying, lying naked and alone on hospital scales.
When he asked why the child was on the scales, the nurses just sighed and said they had forgotten to put her back into the incubator.
"How could they just forget? Even if they did, didn't they hear her cry?" he asked.
He visited again in the evening and returned to the hospital on Monday afternoon with clothes he had bought for his wife and child.
"I was shocked to find my wife lying in bed crying, and was told the terrible news that the baby had died. I couldn't believe it. I asked to see the child's body, but my request was denied. Instead, I was told to wait. Two hours passed and they still didn't attend to me."
When he finally met a doctor, he was told that his daughter had been exposed to the cold and had died of hyperthermia.
The grieving father added: "This was our last child, we already have two boys and one girl, and had agreed on sterilizing, which was done with the caesarean."
What has further alarmed the couple is that when they received the death certificate it stated the cause of death as Respiratory Distress Syndrome due to the premature birth, with no mention of hyperthermia.
Mbuli said that he at first wanted a post-mortem, but dropped the idea as he did not trust the hospital doctors and could not afford to bring in an independent pathologist.
He reported his concerns to the hospital authorities and was promised a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death. The couple are still awaiting the results before deciding on their next course of action.
"I want to sue them. I know that suing will not bring back my child, but it would at least teach them a lesson," mineworker Gift Mbuli said.
His physically and emotionally scared wife, Saliwe added: "When the nurse told me the news, it pained me even more than the operation. I was broken inside and I cried, but the nurse just turned her back on me. I cried the whole night."
She went on to say: "I have now experienced the reality of the 'slaughter house.' They killed my child. I will never forgive them, why should I? They take things lightly with their 'sorries,' but they don't understand the pain I am in, and never will!"
Hospital Superintendent Dr Japhter Masunge could not comment on the case saying that it would be breaching the doctor-patient confidentiality. He said it was "unethical" and added that he could not confirm the incident or allegations of neglect.
He admitted that they received and dealt with a variety of complaints and were concerned over the hospital's reputation and the labels some had given it. He said: "People are free to use any label they want, but we are not a slaughter-house, we are a hospital."
He further denied that there was negligence in the hospital, adding that people only thought that way out of ignorance. "They have high expectations, but they should understand that though we have the expertise we can't help everyone. Sometimes patients that are in a critical and terminal conditions pass on, and then we are blamed."
Ministry Of Health Public Relations officer, Colo Boitshoko, also declined to comment on the case, but said that the aggrieved parents could take the matter up with the Director of Clinical Services if they were not satisfied with the Hospital Superintendent's explanation.
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