Mpilo Hospital in patient death storm

MPILO Central Hospital faces medical negligence allegations after a Bulawayo man claimed that his son, a college student, died a day after he was admitted due to possible malpractice by the hospital's doctors and nurses.

Darlington Mangwiro, 23, died in the theatre before a minor operation on his nose that had developed a growth.

His family has further been traumatised after hospital authorities sent an invoice demanding payment for his stay in hospital indicating that he had been discharged alive, even though he died hours after hospitalisation and the hospital issued a postmortem report and death certificate.

The hospital is demanding $240 for Darlington's purported 20 day hospital stay and has threatened to hand the late young man's family to debt collectors to recover the money.

His father Mutero Mangwiro said his son was admitted on April 23 for a minor operation, but events that followed point to possible foul play.

"He was booked into the theatre at 8.15AM on April 24. At 9.30AM he was certified dead. That is what is on the postmortem report. Despite that my son died on the operating table and the operation was not done, after all this I get a bill that says he was discharged on the 13th of May and demanding payment," said Mangwiro.

"There was gross negligence. My son had a growth in the nose and he had gone for a minor operation."

Darlington, who was a final year geology student at the Zimbabwe School of Mines in Bulawayo was described by his father as a serious church goer.

He was single and did not drink or smoke. He was due to graduate in August.

"Young as he was, my son was quite a senior person," said Mangwiro.

He said police were handling the case concerning his son's death. He said he could not divulge more on the hospital's alleged negligence as that could jeopadise investigations.

Mangwiro has avoided approaching the hospital authorities over his son's death.

"I didn't go to the hospital because I was going to be a victim of the police. I was going to cause a scene," said Mangwiro.

He said the bill sent to him shows that something is rotten at the hospital.

"If you look at the bill it says he is still alive yet the hospital issued the death certificate 24 hours later. How do they reconcile their records? Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing? Is this not a matter of making John pay to cover for Peter? How many people are in this predicament? It shows that no-one cares about what is happening at the hospital. The system is rotten," said Mangwiro.

When contacted, the hospital's acting CEO, Leonard Mabhande said there was no need to discuss the matter in "the papers".

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo was not immediately available for comment.

Mpilo Central Hospital has previously faced allegations of negligence following the death of patients.

A Bulawayo woman, whose premature twin baby girl died a few days after she was placed in an incubator at the institution two years ago, filed a $1 million lawsuit against the hospital and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

According to the summons Nobuhle Nkomo, demanded $500,000 from each of the respondents.

In court papers she said: "On July 10, 2013 at about 12PM, I went for routine breast feeding and was shocked to find my twin babies placed in an incubator despite that they never suffered from hypothermia.

"I helplessly watched my babies being roasted and crying in pain as a result of over-exposure to the heater."

Hypothermia is a potentially dangerous drop in body temperature, usually caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.

One of her daughters developed skin disfigurement and internal breathing problems that led to her death while the other sustained swollen hands and her skin colour turned charcoal black. Her fingers were subsequently amputated and their mother developed hypertension.