I read with dismay, the news story of a medical intern who panicked and pulled off a baby’s hand during an emergency delivery by c-section in Jinja Hospital. I’m not certain about the facts, including those of bribery prior to the operation, but it’ is clear that there were elements of negligence and wrongdoing by the hospital administration. You would think that in this day and age, a mere caesarian section is something that any hospital, is ordinarily capable of handling without incident.
Such occurrences are a reflection of Uganda’s entire public health sector where doctors have abandoned their duty to save lives and money is the order of the day.
The expectant mother, in this case, was let down by the hospital, by the medical fraternity, and she was definitely let down by us all, as Ugandans.
It is important to consider the impact that this will have on the messages encouraging expectant mothers to have their deliveries done in hospitals and not at home.
Ultimately, a thorough investigation should be conducted and all those guilty of any wrongdoing should be held personally liable; it would be good to see the affected mother offered pro-bono legal counsel to sue the hospital.
The silence about these unfortunate incidents shall continue, until it is your wife, mother, sister, or wife, lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life, because of the mistakes of an unsupervised intern doctor.
