Call for Kenya hospital closure over alleged negligence

Members of Kenya’s senate health committee want a public hospital temporarily closed accusing the staff of negligence.

This follows the hearing of testimonies from Kenyans who have lost their loved ones at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital over the years.

The hospital, which is named after the wife of Kenya’s third president, has been on the spotlight several times now over alleged cases of medical malpractice.

On Tuesday, the nine-member committee heard from a mother who lost her son at the hospital after nurses failed to attend to him. Her son had been involved in a road accident and was brought to the facility by police officers.

According to the mother, the nurses did not do anything and they were forced to move to a different facility. The 41-year-old man was pronounced dead on arrival.

The committee also heard from a first-time dad who lost his wife at the same hospital after she delivered twins. She bled to death.

One senator called for the committee to recommend that medics take individual responsibility for negligence.

“These are serious cases of negligence. These deaths could have been avoided had the people in charge acted with speed and professionalism,” Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu said.

Several public hospitals have been accused of negligence in the past in cases that were all found to be institutional and human resource-related.

Very few health workers have been found guilty of negligence.

BBC Africa