Karen Hospital denies negligence claims after Papa Shirandula death

Charles Bukeko's wife, Beatrice Andega, addresses mourners at her husband's burial at Nanderema, Funyula in Busia County, July 20, 2020. PHOTO | ISAAC WALE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Papa Shirandula's widow Beatrice Andega accused the hospital of neglecting him, leading to his death at the parking before he could be admitted.
  • The hospital said it was aggrieved by the statements made “with absolute ignorance to validate or confirm facts with the hospital or circumstances for the occurrence.
  • It wants media houses to “refrain from communicating unsubstantiated claims about it to the general public.

The Karen Hospital has defended itself against allegations of negligence as raised by the widow of actor Charles Bukeko, aka Papa Shirandula, at his burial on Monday.

Papa Shirandula died on Saturday after experiencing breathing problems.

His widow Beatrice Andega accused the hospital of neglecting him, leading to his death at the parking before he could be admitted.

Ms Andega alleged that staff were slow in attending to him and “did not consider his condition an emergency.”

She also said the staff concentrated more on testing him for Covid-19 and ignored the malaria and pneumonia tests he had requested.

QUALITY SERVICES

In a statement, the hospital said it was aggrieved by the statements made “with absolute ignorance to validate or confirm facts with the hospital or circumstances for the occurrence.

Chief Executive Officer Juliet Nyaga noted that the hospital is licensed and certified by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, is ISO 9001:2015 certified and “carries all its operations with the utmost duty of care for our patients”.

“Karen Hospital staff have continued to maintain this high quality of service even during the Covid-19 pandemic as per the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization’s guidelines and protocols of care and treatment of Covid-19,” she said.

The CEO added that the hospital has a robust policy for dealing with matters pertaining to any patient or their next of kin.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The hospital wants media houses to “refrain from communicating unsubstantiated claims about it to the general public.

It further wants journalists to contact its administration to verify and validate any “adverse information” they may come across.