The Kenya Medical Practitioners Board (KMPB) has ordered the closure of the newborn unit at the Consolata Hospital Mathari in Nyeri over negligence.
This follows different cases detailing the death of newborns, with the most recent being in April 2019, where doctors were accused of inducing labour to a woman, Jacinta Muriithi for 34 hours and going against her wish of giving birth through caesarean section (CS).
Mrs Muriithi together with her husband, Felix Muriithi accused the hospital of subjecting her to a painful labour, that led to the death of their child despite complaints that she wanted to deliver through CS
“I had been attending clinics in a different hospital in Thika and the doctors told me that the child was big and I could not deliver normally. I was prepared for CS when I went to hospital,” said Jacinta.
Read: Nyeri MCA Sues Consolata Hospital Over Death Of Her Child
The baby died a few minutes later in what was termed as negligence and disregard to patient wishes.
“Why did they refuse to accept our request for CS? Why did they not consider the weight and size of the baby? For all that time they should have done something to save our baby,” lamented Felix Muriithi, husband to Jacinta.
In another account of events, Nyeri County Nominated Member of the County Assembly (MCA) Beth Nyawira Kimali filed a suit against the Consolata Hospital over the death of her unborn child in 2013.
The nominated MCA wanted to be paid Sh6 million as part of the compensation over alleged negligence at the Hospital, that saw her lose her child and suffer from serious gynaecological problems.
“They failed to exercise adequate care so to avoid injury to the plaintiff or the unborn child,” read the court documents.
Read Also: Aga Khan Hospital Ordered To Pay Woman Sh3 Million For Negligence
The Hospital, sponsored by the Catholic Church has been on the limelight fro negligence, with different people reporting different cases of the same.
In regards to the death of Jacinta Muriithi’s unborn child, the Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Bernard Muriithi stated that the hospital and its management were aware of the case, and were working closely to complete investigations and determine what happened.
“This is an unfortunate case that will be taken with a lot of seriousness but for now I cannot give further details because I am still waiting to be briefed by the experts,” said Bernard Muriithi, the Hospital CEO.
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