Mbita Sub-County Facility, has hit the headlines for all the bad reasons after it was accused for the death of a pregnant 22-year-old woman over negligence.
According to the family of Letizia Achieng,the hospital took long to transfer to another hospital.
She was hospitalised, and three hours later, her condition appeared to have deteriorated.
Because they didn’t have the medicine she required, the doctors decided to send her to Homa Bay County Referral Hospital. However, there was no ambulance available to transport Ms Achieng to the referral hospital, which was 40 kilometers distant.
After then, the medics requested an ambulance from Sindo Sub-County Hospital.
“Our hope was renewed when we saw the ambulance arriving at the hospital. But the driver insisted he would not leave until we paid the Sh5,000,” Mr Ogango said.
The ambulance driver said the truck was out of gas and wanted Sh5,000 in advance from the patient’s caregivers.
“We argued with the ambulance driver for 30 minutes over the fuel issue. I believe Linda Mama insurance covers even the cost of an ambulance. I eventually decided to use my friend’s vehicle because the patient’s condition continued to worsen,” he said.
Mr Ogango stated that because the ambulance was late, he enlisted the help of a friend to transport Ms Achieng to the referral hospital.
Bernard Ogango, Ms Achieng’s brother-in-law, said they arrived to Mbita Sub-County Hospital at 1 a.m. on Friday.
The friend’s automobile arrived in less than 10 minutes, but Mbita hospital medics stated a private vehicle was unfit for transporting the patient. They demanded that Mr Ogango wait for the ambulance, which arrived just before 6 a.m.
Achieng who was nine months pregnant, at the time, died at Homa Bay County Referral Hospital on Friday morning.
She died 45 minutes after arriving at Homa Bay County Referral, where she was undergoing treatment. Ms Achieng died of excessive blood pressure, according to Peter Ogola, the chief executive of Homa Bay County Referral Hospital.
“The patient was brought to our hospital when she was already overwhelmed. Her foetus was already dead,” Dr Ogola said.
