Top Kigali hospital under probe

The Rwanda Medical Council (RMC) is investigating reports of medical malpractices that allegedly led to the death of a mother and her newly born baby at LaCroix Du Sud Hospital in Kigali.The hospital is commonly known as Dr Nyrinkwaya’s facility.According to a reliable source, the father requested the medical council to look into the circumstances that led to death of his wife and child.The Secretary of RMC, Dr Emmanuel Rudacyemwa, confirmed the development saying they are investigating the cause of the woman’s death, but was non committal on the details.“This case is among several others the council is handling from various health facilities,” he said.Dr Rudacyemwa added that the council has in the past investigated similar cases, where medics have committed professional errors but noted that some of the complaints turn out to be baseless.He emphasized that in the event where the investigations prove errors on the part of the hospitals, including administering of wrong treatment, the medics are penalised.In an interview with The New Times, the Chief Executive Officer of La Croix Du Sud Hospital, Dr Jean Nyirinkwaya, blamed the woman’s death to sudden heart failure.He said that prior to the delivery procedure, medics had examined her and found no complication and it is only during labour that she suffered from sudden heart failure, whose cause Dr Nyirinkwaya could not immediately ascertain.He noted that medics always try their best to minimise risks during delivery, but may not be able to stop them at times. But this is not the first complaint from the hospital’s facility.A few weeks ago, a man whose child, he says, was admitted with diarrhoea and was vomiting, got involved in a altercations with staff at the hospital after realising that the child was only becoming worse - falling in and out of coma - yet the hospital had denied his child a referral to a more equipped medical facility.The man, whose child has since recovered, said that he insisted on a transfer after suspecting that there was a problem with the administering of treatment and the behaviour of the nurses. He said his child was swelling uncontrollably and a drip had been wrongly inserted in the body.Dr. Nyirinkwaya, however, refuted allegations of wrong drug prescription, saying the child was admitted in a critical condition.He explained that they referred the child to another medical facility as the child’s father kept complaining and had no confidence in the medics.“The child wasn’t given any wrong treatment. She was in a critical condition and the father didn’t trust that we could help the child recover,” Dr Nyirinkwaya explained.“When you don’t show confidence in the medics that are treating you, then you make them nervous and panicky thus making it hard (to effectively carry out their duties),” he added.“Some of the people we receive at the hospital act so rude which might even lead a doctor to panic or deliver services poorly,” Dr Nyrinkwaya pointed out, adding that despite persistent government’s calls for hospitals to improve service delivery, patients too should equally be sensitised.While Dr. Rudacyemwa said the council had received several reports of malpractices among some medical staff, he could not disclose any statistics explaining that identifying the genuine complaints takes time.In a bid to offer better services at his hospital, Dr Nyirinkwaya said that whenever such cases are recorded, they are reviewed by senior hospital staff, evaluated and appropriate measures taken so that such unfortunate events are not repeated.But for the medical council, professional errors are punished. “If there is a case of malpractice by any of the doctors or the medical staff, then it will not go unpunished. They are either reprimanded or banned from practising medicine in any medical facility,” Dr Rudacyemwa said.

National

Top Kigali hospital under probe