Durban - A 17-year-old mother whose newborn baby was handed to her with his arm broken and who was cut vertically and horizontally when she had a Caesarean section, says the hospital has failed to explain how she and her child were injured during the birth.
Chwayita Vutha’s son, Bayanda, was born at Osindisweni Hospital, near Verulam, on July 13. Her angry family, from Waterloo, said at the weekend they would seek legal advice.
The baby’s right arm was bandaged immediately after birth and three days later he and his mother were sent to King Edward VIII Hospital where the arm was put in a cast.
Chwayita said of the birth: “My mother’s friend brought me to the hospital around midnight. I was taken to theatre where I was cut twice to deliver my baby. Having seen the child and the bandaged arm, I asked reasons and none was given.”
Last Wednesday, the cast was removed and on Thursday Chwayita was invited to the hospital - alone. “The lady identified herself as Mrs Ngcobo, the Osindisweni Hospital manager. She said I must come to the hospital alone, to talk.
“I told her that we could talk over the phone and she said no, I had to come to the hospital. I didn’t go there because I was puzzled that this lady did not ask to speak to my parent. I told my mother about the call,” Chwayita said.
Her mother, Nobubele Vutha, met Ngcobo on Friday. However, she said, four hospital officials, including Ngcobo, failed to give an explanation.
“My daughter was cut vertically and horizontally. Her baby’s arm is broken,” Nobubele said. “Whoever is responsible must account for the pain suffered by my daughter and grandchild.”
She said she found it unethical for Ngcobo to call her daughter to the hospital, without communicating with her.
“They told me that Chwayita was still young and the baby was big, so in cases like this it happens that a child can break an arm.
“I would understand if she had given birth naturally, but in a Caesarean section how does a baby break an arm? When I asked them why they wanted my daughter to come to the hospital alone, Mrs Ngcobo said they didn’t have my number,” Nobubele said.
She said at the meeting they were asked to sign a document, which they refused to do because they were not told what it was for.
Dr Godfrey Jjuuko, a gynaecologist in Ladysmith, said babies could be injured during birth.
“It is, however, better when the doctor explains to a patient how the injuries happened, than to hear from the nurses because sometimes information gets distorted,” he said.
When contacted by the Daily News on Friday, Ngcobo confirmed calling the young mother to the hospital, but said she could not comment because a report had already been sent to head office.
When asked if calling a minor to a meeting, emphasising that she should come alone, was ethical, she said the department had answers to that.
Lizzie Shabalala, the Health portfolio committee chairwoman in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, said:
“What I’m hearing is disturbing.
“We have an oversight role to play over the Health Department, and we stand with our people. If this was brought to us at the earlier stage, we would have even visited the young mother.
“Now that it is in the department’s hands, then the department has to answer. If the department is in the wrong, the department must be held accountable,” Shabalala said.
When told that the Vutha family were considering a civil claim, Shabalala said: “The issue of litigation against the department is very concerning.
“The department needs to look at the amount it pays in litigation because of an individual employee. It then needs to look at how it recoups that money.”
Department spokesman, Sam Mkhwanazi, said the department did not discuss clinical matters with other parties.
“Health-care users who have queries or concerns are advised to raise such through our complaints mechanisms like management or the Health ombudsperson,” he said.
Thandi Manganye, acting registrar and chief executive of the South African Nursing Council, said the health professional responsible for breaking the child’s arm needed to have informed the patient what happened and written a report.
She said if the matter was reported to the council, it would investigate.
Daily News