AGGRIEVED WIDOWER PETITIONS HEALTH MINISTER

The couple on the day of their marriage 

In furtherance of his desire to get to the root cause of the death of his expectant wife and child at the Madina (Kekle) Polyclinic, Bernard Otu, the aggrieved widower has petitioned the Minister of Health.

He is asking for thorough investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of his 38-year-old wife and unborn baby through childbirth at the facility.

Mr Otus is also seeking, among other things, an inquiry into what he described as professional negligence as well as the lack of customer care and fellow feeling which resulted in the irreplaceable loss of two lives.

The three-paged petition, dated January 4, 2016 and addressed to the Health Minister has since been served with copies to other supervisory/regulatory institutions such as the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NWC), Medical and Dental Council (MDC),  and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA).

Mr. Otu indicated that another of his motivation in pursuing the case was the need for a restructuring of the systems and a proper supervision to save more lives in our quest, as a nation, to reduce the incidence of maternal, perinatal and infant mortality.

Post mortem

A post mortem report from the Police Hospital, dated June 24, 2015, stamped and signed by one Dr. L. Edusei indicated that Cynthia died of “breeched presentation” explained by medical experts as a childbirth in which the baby exits the pelvis with the buttocks, feet or any other part of the body as opposed to the normal head-first presentation.

Per the report, she was also found to have suffered a “uterine rupture”, also explained as tear or explosion of the uterus. These followed an induced labour and nearly 24 hours of labour characterized by profuse bleeding.

Background

Cynthia Nuworsu, the deceased 

Cynthia Nuworsu , a trader and a mother of four, underwent an induction of labour at the Polyclinic on Wednesday June 17 2015 and died in the process the following day, still undelivered.

According to the grieving husband, his demands to have access to the wife and later for a referral to a hospital in the course of the prolonged labour were all ignored until his wife eventually passed away.  

The corpse was later transferred to the Police hospital and subsequently buried at Dzodze in the Volta Region together with the remains of the foetus.

Invitation by national security

Reliable information indicates that the National Security has invited the officers of the Madina Police Station where the case was first reported. 

The Chief of Madina, Serikie Baba Amadu Seidu, who at a point was commissioned by the officers of the Polyclinic to arbitrate the case between them and the widower has also been invited. 

Medical and Dental Council invite

A meeting was held in Accra on Tuesday between officials of the Medical and Dental Council and the widower, at the instance of the former.

According to Mr. Otu, he has been directed by the Registrar of the Council, Dr. Eli Atikpui, to submit an official complaint, attached with what the registrar described as a statutory declaration to enable the council take the necessary actions. He is yet to submit the complaints as requested.

Nana Aba Anamoah supports

Nana Aba Anamoah presenting the cash to the widower

In a related development, Nana Aba Anamoah, a broadcast journalist with GHOne Television (and formerly of TV3) has donated an amount of Thousand Ghana cedis (GHC1000.00) to support the husband and children of the deceased.

Presenting the cash to the widower in the studios of Starr FM last Tuesday shortly after their interview session on the Morning Starr, Nana Aba who was sitting in for Nii Ardey Clegg, the regular host, said “This is my personal contribution to keep you and your children going in this moment of grief. I hope other individuals and institutions will do same to help sooth your sorrow”.

Mr. Otu who received the cash with mixed feeling said “This gesture is unexpected; it means so much to me and I know God will reward you for this gesture”.

Story by Henking A. Adjase-Kodjo and Seth J. Bokpe 

Henking is a journalist (an activist writer) and a blogger and can be reached via klonobi2007@gmail.com. You can follow him on twitter with the handle @henkingklonobi. Don't hesitate to leave the writer a comment on the story read.

The story as captured in page 3 of the Mirror of  Feb 5-11, 2016

NB: A copy of the petition is reproduced below

Post Office Box OK 155

Odumase-Krobo

January 4, 2016

The Minster

Ministry of Health

Accra

Attn: Hon Alex Segbefia

PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE AT THE MADINA (KEKLE) POLYCLINIC AND THE RESULTANT DEATH OF MY EXPECTANT WIFE

Dear Sir,

After thorough reflection and consultations, I have decided to petition your outfit (and the other supervisory institutions) as the first in the series of steps I intend to take on the issue of the death of my expectant wife at the Madina (Kekle) Polyclinic.

It is my conviction that the process leading to her death and the condition in which she passed away smack of professional negligence (a threat to the public) which should not pass without attention and investigation as is in the interest of the public.

Background

My 38 year old wife, Cynthia Nuworsu died, of a raptured uterus and similar complications after an induced and an unreasonably long period of painful labour. On that fateful day, Wednesday June 17, 2015, Cynthia who was going about her normal activities, was called from the hospital- having been put on a waiting list to be delivered of her baby- and admitted in the clinic, where she’s had her antenatal care all this while.

Between her arrival around 5pm on June 17 and death in the afternoon of on June 18 June, 2015, it became obvious that complications had set in (in the delivery process) beyond the capacity of the polyclinic (said to have no operating theatre) and needed to be referred to a better equipped hospital but the medical would not give any credible information on how she was faring. They will neither give me access to her nor grant my requests to have her transferred immediately. All they kept telling me in a rather rude tone was “you are not a Doctor and can’t dictate to us”.

All this while, I could hear my wife’s loud screams, which intensified in equal measure to the aggravated pain and discomfort, arising out of the induced and prolong period of labour.

In short, I was prevented from seeing her and my wish/request to have her referred got ignored until I was grudgingly informed of her passing by the Ag. Medical Officer, Dr. Selorm Botchwey, around 4:30pm, nearly 24 hours after her labour was induced.

The corpse which still had the baby stuck in the tommy was handed over to me around 6pm with a note for a post mortem at the 37 Military Hospitals. Autopsy at the Police Hospital (during which the foetus was removed) later revealed that she died of a ruptured uterus and breech presentation.

The deceased together with the foetus were subsequently buried on Saturday August 8, 2015 at Dzodje in the Volta Region.

Justification for the petition/call for investigation and intended action

Loss of two precious lives: The quantum of loss I have suffered is enormous; at least one life (either the mother or the baby) could and should have been saved; and a little act of professionalism on the part of the medical officers would have achieved that. And isn’t it amazing that even at the time of her death, after nearly 24 hours of labour, the baby was still stuck in the womb?

Indiscretion/professional negligence: Why should an expectant mother be subjected to this long period of labour at a facility that has no operating theatre to take care of likely/resultant complications. And why won’t my insistence on her transfer be enough push for referral to a more advanced medical facility?  This is certainly a clear act of indiscretion and or incompetence which must not go unchecked, if more lived should be saved. Surprising shocking mind-blowing

Lack of customer care and fellow feeling: The arrogance on the part of the medical staff on duty was, to put it mildly, startling and dreadful. It is expected that in this day and age when customer care has virtually become a way of life for any well-managed staff/corporate institution, a husband whose wife is in labour would receive a warm embrace that would be soothing enough to rest his mind during that period of uncertainty. What did I experience- pure pride and a rather haughty manner and feeling of superiority over me which turned hostile what should rather have been a friendly environment. Given their deep-seated attitude (which must be their way of life), when they should be learning from this unfortunate situation, there is the high possibility that another person may be subjected to similar treatment that would lead to the irreversible loss of more precious lives, if swift measures are not taken.

Financial loss: Aside the loss of human lives (my hard-working wife in particular), that has rendered my four children motherless, I have suffered huge financial loss that has virtual grounded what was a thriving transport business on which our very survival was hinged. Life has not been the same.

Need to save more lives: My key motivation in seeking your intervention is the need to act to save more lives. I want to believe that a lot more people have gone through similar experience in silence, not only at the Madina Polyclinic but in our various hospitals (government hospitals in particular) and a lot more will have to be at the receiving end of this ill-treatment unless something drastic was done.

It remains my wish that you personally step into this issue and cause the right thing to be done because it is in largely in the interest of the citizenry so to do.

I count on your swift response

Yours sincerely

Bernard Otu

……………....

Tel: 0244 543 179 / 0270543179

Cc: Director General, Ghana Health Service, Accra

Director, Ghana Medical Association, Accra

Greater Accra Regional Director, Ghana Health Service, Accra

Director, Ghana Health Service, La-Nkwantanan

Deputy Medical Director, Madina (Kekle) Polyclinic

The Konor (Paramount Chief), Manya Krobo

Kloma Gbi

The Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana, Accra

The President, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Accra

The Registrar, Medical and Dental Council, Accra

NB: Copies updated with the last three recipients