Mama Lucy Hospital absolved from blame on child deaths
A nine-member task force appointed to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of a three-month-old baby at the Mama Lucy Hospital has returned a not guilty verdict.
In its report, the task force said that Dominic Otieno was accorded all necessary treatment and ruled out negligence on the part of the hospital’s management.
Governor Evans Kidero had set up the task force after Baby Dominic died at the hospital on February 11, 2016 after waiting for an ambulance for over five hours.
PROPER ATTENTION
The chairman of the task force Philip Kungu, who doubles up as the county Public Service Board Chairman, said his team was satisfied that the baby was provided with proper medical attention.
“Following the data collection and the people we talked to, we are satisfied that the baby was given proper treatment by the hospital,”said Mr Kungu on Monday.
He said that baby Dominic had been transferred from another health facility within the locality and had arrived at Mama Lucy hospital in a critical condition.
Further, that medical staff were able to give him all the medical care he needed.
“We talked to all persons of interest the nurses, the management, the family and we are satisfied that master Dominic was given the necessary medical care that was available at that time,” he told journalists.
LACK OF AMBULANCE
He said that the media had only emphasized on the lack of an ambulance to transfer the patient to Kenyatta National Hospital since he needed an Intensive Care Unit at the time.
Mr Kungu said despite the lack of an ambulance, the doctors ensured that the child received proper treatment and made him as comfortable as he could before he succumbed.
Mr Kungu said that the hospital had only one functioning ambulance after two of them stalled due to mechanical breakdown.
“This issue of Baby Dominic came to light after the hospital failed to provide an ambulance to transfer the patient to KNH. However, by the time of his death the hospital had three ambulances which only one was working as the rest had mechanical problems,”said Mr Kungu.
The task force however ruled out other cases of child deaths at the hospital. They said that no other cases had emerged during their investigation..
However, two cases that emerged soon after Baby Dominc’s death. They were that of Baby Gloria Kavata, aged 4month, and four year Janes Angel who are said to have died due to negligence at the hospital.
