Mpumalanga premier sheds more light on wrongful amputation of infant’s hand
More details have emerged about how a new-born baby’s hand was wrongly amputated at a Mpumalanga hospital recently.
The little girl was admitted to Bernice Samuel Hospital in Delmas for a bout of diarrhoea, but had to be transferred to Witbank Hospital due to complications.
It’s now understood medical staff at the hospital incorrectly inserted the drip into the baby’s arm, causing irreparable damage.
Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane says a case of negligence is being investigated.
Officials visited the girl, weighing 2.4kg, and her family at the hospital on Sunday.
“We need to admit where we have done wrong. We must not shy away,” she said on Monday.
“We have taken a decision that those that were involved in treating the child for diarrhoea and ultimately that diarrhoea has led to a 3-weeks-old losing her arm, they must be suspended with immediate effect.”
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Mtshweni-Tsipane vowed to take the medical staff to task.
“The pointers are already indicative that there is some sort of negligence that has occurred in the hospital and we are saying if we don’t condemn that as government nobody else will do that.
“Such incidents more and more, it’s becoming so glaring that are deliberately or man-made due to an official not taking care in a manner they are supposed to do,” she added.
She further admitted the litigation could bankrupt the provincial government.
“When you look at our litigation register, the amounts that are there – if we were to be instructed to pay that tomorrow, I can tell you that department will be without funds due to the litigation.”
Mtshweni-Tsipane offered her apologies to the family of the girl.
“I saw the mother of that girl, she’s a young girl and now we’ve robbed her the arm of her daughter and it’s a right hand so you can imagine we are disadvantaging the future of that child,” she said.
A preliminary report is expected to be issued this week.
Listen to Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane below:
