Mpilo Hospital staffers' negligence results in child death

An act of negligence by Mpilo Central Hospital staffers has robbed a young family of the joy of parenthood, after their three week child died on Wednesday while receiving treatment at the referral hospital.

Simbarashe Murozvi and his wife Ratidzo, are up in arms against the hospital after their son, Perez, died from complications arising from a mistake by the hospital's medical personel who were treating him for a kidney ailment. It is understood during the treatment process, a staffer at the hospital made a mistake resulting in the infant's arm being amputated.

The staffer, whose identity is yet to be established, forgot to remove an elastic band they had put on young Perez's arm in an attempt to insert a drip. The elastic band remained on the baby's arm for more than thirteen hours, causing it to be gangrenous and therefore, a threat to his life.

The doctors recommended that the arm be amputated so as to save the baby.

After the operation, the baby, who had lost a lot of blood, reportedly failed to get a transfusion on time and when he finally got blood, his body is said to have rejected it.

He started bleeding from the mouth and died a few hours later.

Narrating their ordeal to Radio Dialogue, the couple took a swipe at the hospital staff for being negligent while on duty.

"The doctors could not pin point the person who had committed the offence. I then informed the Matron, a Mr Sithole, about the incident. He indicated that the condition of the arm was terrible and the arm would have to be amputated to avoid the infection spreading to other parts of the body.

"We informed Doctor Ndebele, the head of the hospital, but he indicated to us that the hospital was not at fault and the baby was injured while the hospital was in the process of treating him," he narrated.

When a Radio Dialogue news crew visited the family home in Mpopoma on Thursday, family members and relatives were trickling in to console the couple.

Some of the relatives who spoke to this reporter were livid and called for the culprit to be found and be brought to book for the pain they caused the Murozvi family. A postmortem will be conducted on Friday.

Contacted for comment, Doctor Wedu Ndebele, the Clinical Director at Mpilo Central Hospital confirmed the incident and revealed that an investigation was underway to establish what really happened.

"The matter is under investigation. We are still waiting for the outcome of the post mortem and other things," said Dr Ndebele.

Quizzed on what would happen to the medical personnel, should they be found on the wrong side, Dr Ndebele said the hospital would "follow the procedures of the Public Health Act."