Yet Another Case Of Medical Negligence

MURDER AT HOSPITAL
…Baby falls from Mother’s Vagina
…As Tension brews at Ketu District
By Ras Amewode & Kinsley Dogbey

The youth of Denu, the capital of Ketu District of the Volta Region are up in arms
against the authorities of the Ketu District Hospital following the death of a woman
and her baby girl who lost their lives as result of medical negligence.

The baby had died earlier after falling from its mother’s vagina when she was forced
to change bed in the middle of delivery with her baby hanging between her thighs by
its placenta, and in the process, the baby fell and heavily smashed it’s delicate
head on the cement floor, and died.

Hospital sources told this paper that the woman was later abandoned to die after her
husband threatened to sue a nurse by name “Pat” whose action led to the death of the
baby.
The Concerned Youth Association of Denu has therefore, petitioned the Director of
the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to institute an independent inquiry into the
matter. The petition, signed by its interim chairman, Israel Bossman Tornyeviadzi,
referred to many complaints of unprofessional conduct by the nurses as narrated by
some former patients of the hospital.
According to informat
ion gathered by The Herald, on April 8, 2010, the deceased, 27-year-old Dzifa
Agbofuatsi, a mother of two, who was in labour, was sent to the hospital by her
husband only to be told by the nurse on duty to get some paracetamol and go home.

Not satisfied with the prescription, the husband, Simon Ackumey, insisted on seeing
the doctor, who immediately ordered the deceased’s admission upon examination.
On the third day, the source said, she was moved to the labour ward.

All this while, The Herald learnt, the nurses were alleged to have deliberately
ignored her, worsening her situation. When the baby finally began its journey into
the world, the deceased was instructed to change bed when it was visibly clear that
the baby’s head had appeared. In the process, the baby fell, hitting her forehead
on the ground and died instantly.

Speaking to The Herald, Simon Ackumey said he became suspicious judging from the
nurse’s demeanor when she assured him that all was alright except that the baby had
been placed under oxygen.

He said his wife confirmed his suspicions when he went to see her and she narrated
her ordeal to him.

Ackumey in his bid to obtain justice quickly lodged a complaint with the Bureau of
National Investigations (BNI) at Aflao and an officer was dispatched to investigate.

This action, according to him, fuelled the anger of the nurses who intentionally
ignored the bereaved mother, denying her attention in her condition.

On the third day, the woman kept bleeding profusely through her mouth, ears and
nostrils, but was only referred to the Ho Regional Hospital after persistent calls
from her husband, and she was sadly pronounced dead on arrival at Ho.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Kwesi Asare Bediako, declined to comment
when The Herald reached him on the phone. He said he was waiting for a directive
from his bosses.

This issue comes on the heel of another case of medical negligence which resulted in
the death of the wife of the Deputy Minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, at
the Police Hospital in Accra.

Earlier, a couple had threatened to sue the Lister Hospital also in Accra over what
they also considered gross negligence on the part of those in-charge. They had lost
their newly born son in the process.

Meanwhile, the Concerned Youth Association of Denu is planning a massive
demonstration on May 14, 2010 to coincide with the funeral of Dzifa Agbofuatsi.
Source: The Herald