Baby falls from Mother’s Vagina

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