Namibia – 19th December, 2019: Two women have accused the ministry of health of medical negligence during separate procedures that have left them scarred for life.
The complaints come as the Health Professions Council of Namibia (HPCNA) revealed that 119 cases of medical negligence have been reported to them from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019.
According to the first woman, Amalia Festus (29), her womb was removed without her consent at the Windhoek Central Hospital in 2017.
The mother of two told The Namibian that she had gone to the Katutura Intermediate Hospital to give birth. She said following delivery by Caesarean section, she was discharged three days later, even though she complained of unbearable pain.
"I asked how I could be discharged if I was not feeling well, and a nurse told me that I would recover at home," said Festus.
However, the following day, Festus said she asked a family member to return her to the Katutura hospital because of the unbearable pain. Because the Katutura hospital was full, she went to the Windhoek Central Hospital. There, she got a prescription for a five-day antibiotic course, and was sent home. However, her body did not respond to this medication.
"I returned to the Windhoek Central Hospital, and the doctor gave me a letter stating that I was going to be operated on, but did not tell me why," continued Festus.
It was only after she woke up from the anaesthesia after the operation that doctors allegedly informed her that she could no longer have more children because they had removed her womb. The doctors told her that her womb was "rotten".
"How did the womb even get rotten, and how did the doctors not see that it was rotten when they took out my baby? Were there no other steps they could have taken, instead of removing my womb?" Festus asked.
She said attempts to reach out to the Katutura hospital for answers have not been successful as she was told her maternity file has been lost.
In a similar incident, mother-of-two Riana Roman (30) said she lost approximately 50cm of her small intestine because of a botched operation at the Swakopmund State Hospital in 2017.
Four months into her pregnancy, Roman had a miscarriage which required her to have her uterus cleaned at the hospital. Since she was too weak to talk due to her condition, she referred The Namibian to speak to her fiancé, Heinrich Goaseb.
Goaseb claimed that while Roman was in the theatre undergoing the dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, the family waiting outside were kept in the dark about the operation.
"I asked what happened, and we just heard rumours that she had been sent to the theatre. We waited approximately five hours, and no one in the family was informed that she was being operated on," he said.
Goaseb added that after the operation, a trainee doctor informed the family that there was a problem during the operation.
"He said that during the cleaning of her uterus, they mistook her intestines for the umbilical cord, and pulled it out before cutting it," Goaseb stressed.
He said the following day, Roman was rushed to the Katutura Intermediate Hospital in Windhoek, where doctors were unable to diagnose what was wrong with her.
"We brought her hospital passport with us to Windhoek, and they could not see anything from the passport. They did not have a clue about what happened to her, which is why they had to open her wound again to see what happened," he narrated.
Goaseb said since Roman's operation, she is unable to digest food properly, which has resulted in her drastic weight loss.
"Her body is deteriorating, it is very weak. Food is not being digested [properly]. She has a very short small intestine now, so she goes to the toilet more than 20 times a day, just to release food. She faints often, and sometimes cannot walk," he added.
Goaseb said since the incident, they have reached out to the Ombudsman and the HPCNA, without success.
The senior manager for legal services at the HPCNA, Johanna Nghishekwa, said between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2019, the council received a total of 119 complaints about negligent conduct at hospitals.
She noted that the reason people felt comfortable bringing their complaints to the council was because they were becoming more aware of their rights.
In an attempt to address the negligence reported at most state hospitals in the past three years, the council was assessing health practitioners.
"The HPCNA is making sure they vigorously assess the competence of healthcare practitioners prior to registering them," Nghishekwa added.
Asked about Roman's case, health executive director Ben Nangombe said although he is not at liberty to discuss it because of its sensitivity, the ministry and professions council are aware of it.
"As we speak, the dossier is with the health professions council," he stated.
Quality assurance officials in the ministry were also instructed to reach out to Roman's family.
"This is either to offer some kind of support, or whether there is additional medical assistance required for us [HPCNA] to possibly assist through the special fund. That is what I instructed my quality assurance people to do," said Nangombe.
He added that in the case of Festus, he would ensure that the quality assurance officials reach out to her too.
Nangombe said all health professionals, be it nurses or doctors, who did not record their patients' procedures in the medical passports would be held accountable because they would be violating protocol.
"It is a well-known practice and tradition. Records must be kept, and they must be recorded thoroughly," he emphasised.
Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/201912190963.html