Controversy as patient 'dies' resurrects then dies at a Nakuru hospital

June 19th 2013, By Vincent MabatukNAKURU, KENYA: A family from Subukia in Nakuru County is in a tussle with the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru following what is turning out to be negligence from staff and the hospital’s management.
This emerged after an elderly patient was pronounced dead on arrival at the facility on Tuesday, only for the hospital to recant it. She was however confirmed dead on Wednesday at 11am.

Relatives said a doctor at the Provincial General Hospital ordered Hannah Wanjiru Chege,78, be placed at a temporary room awaiting transfer to the hospital mortuary on Tuesday.
Her granddaughter, Faith Wambui, who was with her and other family members at the hospital were shocked after the doctor informed them that she had passed on.
Wanjiru had complained of acute headache.
“She was examined by a doctor who proceeded and directed us to get a police abstract claiming she had died before she reached the hospital,” she said.
Shocked and in grieve, Wambui together with her uncle John Nduati went to the Railway Police Station, Nakuru where they obtained an abstract and went back to the hospital.
On arrival at the hospital they met mortuary attendants who were ready to move the body to the morgue for preservation but they noticed she was breathing and a doctor was called in to check.
“I was surprised when I decided to see my grandmother for the last time when I saw her breathing and moving her fingers and a doctor was called in who conducted some checks and said she was still alive,” said Wambui.
She said the doctor took the abstract they had come with from the police and tore it after realising his mistake.
“The doctor took the abstract from us immediately after realising his mistake and tore it into pieces and became rude to us when we insisted we wanted to go and cancel our earlier report to the police,” she alleged. Railway Police Station to call so as to explain the circumstances with the view to cancel the death abstract.
The family is now accusing the hospital and the doctor, who identified himself as Ben, of negligence and causing embarrassment and agony to the family. The news of the woman’s death had already spread.

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“We had even called our relatives who are abroad to let them know of the death of our granny only to realise later that she was still alive. That was negligence on the part of the doctor and he should be apprehended,” said Nduati.

He said there could be such cases which have gone unreported and ailing patients taken to the mortuary while still alive.
Senior nursing officer Jeniffer Mathenge said the woman was put in oxygen and admitted immediately after she was discovered to be alive.
However, the family later received shocking news as they prepared to move their grandmother for a scan in a private facility in town when the nursing officer told them Wednesday mid-morning that she had passed on.
Interestingly, the medical superintendent Dr John Murimi learned about the incident from the press and summoned his team who confessed about the incident in front of the press.
The family is now accusing the hospital of taking too much time before clearing her for the x-ray alleging that they had already paid Sh8,000 for the ambulance.
“Where we have human beings, errors do occur and this is one of them,” said the nurse.