The minor, who is now undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), had been taken to the private hospital to undergo appendicectomy since she had been told she had a decayed appendix.
“When I arrived at the hospital, the doctors there told me that my appendix had already begun to decay and that it was an emergency. And I was rushed into surgery,” the girl remembered.
She underwent the first surgery, but she did not show any signs of improving. According to the family, her wound got worse and she had no choice but go back to the hospital for a second surgery, yet the issue was not remedied.
“I was there for five days without dressing the wounds properly, and they began to putrefy. I went back for a second surgery, but that failed too,” she explained.
The doctors at KNH subsequently diagnosed the teen with a bad infection in the stomach, which they thought might have resulted from the surgeries. Health personnel at the referral hospital said the infection was life-threatening when the teen was rushed there for further care.
The private hospital, however, has denied the.Location> of any malpractice and has claimed that all medical procedures and standards were followed. The hospital has instead shifted the blame to the patient’s family for not receiving the best medical treatment.
The hospital representatives claim that when the patient’s health condition began deteriorating, they asked the mother for a consent form for further medical attention, but this claim is strongly denied by the family. The patient claims that no consent form was signed.
The issue has already caught the attention of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), an organization that oversees all healthcare facilities in Kenya. The organization is said to be investigating the case together with DCI.
Initial results from the researchers indicate failures in the process of following approved medical guidelines and delays in making critical decisions, all of which directly contradict the hospital claim that they provided the patient with good care.
While investigations are gathering pace, what the family is now asking for is that the facility be shut down because it has definitely affected their daughter negatively in life.
This comes hours after another health facility in the Kawangware estate of the capital city of Nairobi was closed down due to complications a patient suffered after a tooth removal. Since then, the council has warned the public to remain vigilant and to report anyone they suspect to be practicing unlicensed or negligently. According to the council, cooperation from the public is vital to enhance healthcare standards.
