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Baby Travis Maina could have suffered complications if the fork jembe lodged in his skull had been removed immediately, doctors said yesterday.

The medical personnel of Thika Level Five Hospital were speaking when they appeared before the Senate Health Committee probing the circumstances under which the child died. Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi accompanied the medics.

A consultant at the facility Dr Wanjiru Karimi said the jembe could not be removed immediately since doing so would have been risky.

“Even with timely intervention, something was going to be lost. If you removed the fork jembe, the place would have to be filled by something,” she said.

 “Seeing that at Thika Level V we lack a pediatric neurosurgeon, a pediatric anesthesiologist and a pediatric ICU, I recommended referral to Kenyatta National Hospital for urgent neurosurgical intervention which he needed,” Karimi (pictured) added.

Soft tissue

A consultant surgeon and Head of Surgical Unit at the hospital Dr Philip Mulingwa stated that Baby Travis need a neurosurgical trauma team and post-operative neurosurgical ICU care which the facility lacks.

According to Dr Mulingwa, the only neurosurgical care the health facility can handle are soft tissue injuries, depressed skull fracture, and extradural and subdural haematoma. E plus Emergency Medical services ambulance crew told the Committee that the journey to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) from Thika Hospital took approximately 48 minutes which was within the normal range to cover a distance of 43kms.

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (A-EMT) Michael Chirchir told the committee that when they arrived at KNH at about 6pm, they found no nurses at the triage area as they were responding to a patient in the Resuscitation Room A who need urgent medical attention.

“It took the crew 20 minutes to have the baby’s details taken at the admission desk at KNH and file opened. Another extra 20 minutes taken before nurse Onesmus Momanyi accepted to receive the child resuscitation Room A,” said Chirchir.

Wamatangi said that since he assumed office, he had visited medical facilities in the County and found out that Thika Level V is offering services as a Level Six with financial and personnel constrains.