Kakamega Hospital staff 'leave pregnant woman to die'

Irene Akala during an interview at Nation Centre in Nairobi on November 4, 2015. She alleges that her pregnant sister Elizabeth Akala died in the hands of medical practitioners who neglected her for 14 hours, despite an ultrasound showing that the foetus was dead and she needed urgent medical attention. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Now her family says that doctors were aware that hers was a medical emergency when they admitted her at 5pm on Tuesday, October 27, but did not attend to her until 8.30am the following day and only after she became unconscious. 

  • “The gynaecologist looked at the ultrasound results and asked my wife whether she was literate. She threw the papers at her, saying that the results showed that the 'thing you are carrying in your belly is already dead’”.

  • “The gynaecologist then admitted her and told us that she was too tired and that she had completed her shift and that she had even overstayed by more than an hour. I stayed with my wife at the labour ward and the only people I saw around were the trainee nurses clad in Kenya Medical Training College (uniforms),” Mr Ludenyo said.

A pregnant mother died after medical staff clocked out at the end of their shift, leaving her unattended, crying in pain and begging for help for 14 hours at the Kakamega Provincial General Hospital.

Elizabeth Akala, 36, was admitted to the hospital after an ultrasound examination showed that the 34-week-old baby she was carrying had died in the womb.

Now her family says that doctors were aware that hers was a medical emergency when they admitted her at 5pm on Tuesday, October 27, but did not attend to her until 8.30am the following day and only after she became unconscious.   

Her husband, Mr Zacharia Ludenyo, said nurses and doctors in the labour ward signed off from duty though his wife was writhing in pain and calling out for help, and only returned the next day, when she was dying.

“Her pregnancy was okay all along but on that day in the morning, she started complaining of abdominal pains, which became more intense with time and so I took her to Mukumu Hospital, where she was treated and discharged.

“On arriving home, I noticed that she was still in pain and was not improving and so I took her to her private doctor, called Dr Kidaha, who examined her and recommended an ultrasound exam.

“When the results of the ultrasound came out, the doctor informed me that the baby was dead and asked me to take her for urgent medical attention at the Kakamega Provincial General Hospital,” Mr Ludenyo said.

SCHEDULED FOR AN OPERATION

He added that his wife, who was writhing in pain, was admitted to the labour ward at 5pm and was scheduled for an operation.

“She was in great pain and she kept asking me to call the nurses for her. She kept screaming in pain like someone in labour. Her pain seemed to get worse with time but none of the doctors attended to her,” Mr Ludenyo said.

He said when they arrived at the hospital there was a female gynaecologist, who was given the referral letter and ultrasound results.

“The gynaecologist looked at the ultrasound results and asked my wife whether she was literate. She threw the papers at her, saying that the results showed that the 'thing you are carrying in your belly is already dead’”.

“At that point, my wife was in a lot of pain and my sister-in-law and I were holding her upright.

“The gynaecologist then admitted her and told us that she was too tired and that she had completed her shift and that she had even overstayed by more than an hour. I stayed with my wife at the labour ward and the only people I saw around were the trainee nurses clad in Kenya Medical Training College (uniforms),” Mr Ludenyo said.

At 9.30pm, he went home to attend to their seven-year-old child. His sister-in-law, too, left the hospital because she lives far and had left young children at home.

“By the time I was leaving, my wife looked better. She was in pain, but I could see that she could at least rest on her bed. At that time the nurse told us that the patient was going to be taken to the theatre in a few minutes. I left that nurse there with her and she assured me that my wife would be okay,” he added.

As he was leaving, she asked him to bring her rice and tea.

“She had not eaten a proper meal since morning because of the pain,” he said.

PAINFUL DEATH

The next morning she was dead and the operation had not been carried out.

“Around 9am, I found my sister-in-law and her husband at the hospital and we were all told by a different doctor that my wife was no more. I went straight to the hospital bed where the body was and I realised no operation had been done.

“I signed the papers and the body was taken to the morgue, where the baby was now removed,” Mr Ludenyo said.

The family has a recording of the gynaecologist explaining that her shift had ended at 4pm and that she only admitted Elizabeth because she knew a member of her family.

Medical Superintendent Augustine Ajevi refused to comment on the matter.

“I can only ask the family to come to my office so that they can obtain whatever information they want to get. As for now, I cannot give any information to you,” Mr Ajevi said.

Elizabeth’s body is set to be taken to Kegoe Village in Mbale District of Kakamega County today. The burial is scheduled for Saturday.

The tragedy comes just a month after the death of an accident victim who was waiting in an ambulance for 18 hours at Kenyatta National Hospital. 

The Ministry of Health promised action would be taken against the hospitals involved but so far nothing has been done.