Report cites delays for death of patients at two hospitals

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) and the Ministry of Health are carrying out parallel investigations to establish the circumstances under which some patients at Kenyatta National Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital died.

Preliminary investigations by the ministry reveal possible medical negligence and poor working conditions in the death of patients at the two facilities.

The interim report indicates that Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital is understaffed and ill-equipped to respond to the workload, especially in emergency cases.

The Senate Health Committee chaired by Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu) is investigating the deaths of Baby Travis Maina, Maureen Anyango and Edward Otieno.

Probe report

Baby Maina died at KNH with a fork jembe lodged in his head while Anyango died after excessive bleeding at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. Otieno died of accident injuries also at the latter facility.

The preliminary investigations by the Kenya Health Professionals Oversight Authority (KHPOA) reveal the medics at Mama Lucy delayed in attending to Anyango and Otieno which could have led to their deaths.

In the report tabled before the Senate, KHPOA Chief Executive Jackson Kioko faulted the facility for haphazard documentation.

“It is noted that there were delays in the management of the patient, which led to poor maternal outcomes,” the report says in reference to Anyango who died after giving birth to twins.

Eight hours

According to the initial investigation, there was a delay of more than eight hours in attending to Anyango.

“While it is worth noting that the hospital made an adequate effort to provide the patient with appropriate care at this point, it is imperative to acknowledge that perhaps, this patient may have had a better outcome if an emergency C-Section was done immediately after admission at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital,” the report states.

Kioko also said that the Ministry will provide a detailed report on the investigations into the death of Otieno.

Kioko said that the medics at the Accident and Emergency area could have “inadvertently” forgotten Otieno who had been involved in a motorcycle accident, as the staff attended to other patients.

Concerning baby Travis, Kioko explained that an inquiry was underway to establish the conduct of KNH in dealing with the patient.

A comprehensive report will be produced in 30 days.