A candidate in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination has died hours after giving birth over what is alleged to be negligence on the part of health care workers.
Velma Ochieng who was supposed to sit for her KCSE examination from this week at Nyajanja Mixed Secondary School in Kochia ward, is said to have undergone a successful operation on Monday around 3.am and was taken to bed with her newborn but died minutes after complaining of lower stomach pain.
According to family sources, the doctors had given Velma painkillers to relieve her of the pain which however did not subside and she succumbed afterwards.
It is reported that the 19-year-old who gave birth to a baby boy had shown signs of labor on Saturday, 26 of November, and was ferried on a motorcycle to Homa Bay County Referral hospital and admitted in the maternity ward.
Her aunt, Selah Yago however claimed that Velma was under intense pain but the hospital took long to admit her to the theatre for a cesarean section.
“She assured me that she would go by herself to the hospital on that day as she felt that she was due. Velma was not taken to the theatre even after I pleaded with the doctors to do so,” she said.
Yago regretted that her niece had to endure the suffering up to Sunday when after checking her, the medics decided to rush her for CS as she could not deliver normally.
“I wish they could have taken Velma to the theatre early because I knew she could not give birth the normal way because of her age. She was very tired by the time she was taken for the operation,” decried Yago.
The C-section was successful according to the doctors’ report and she was taken back to the recovery ward. She however passed on soon after.
Her family is now blaming the medics saying that they were negligent and were not dedicated to their work while handling their kin leading to her untimely death.
The hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr. Peter Ogolla however denied the claims saying that the deceased had a successful surgery with no complications.
“Her cervix dilation was two centimeters and the recommended size is 10 centimeters and so the health workers monitored her every four hour. Her dilation got stuck at 2 centimeters,” he said adding when it was established that Velma could not deliver normally the medics decided to undertake CS on her.
“After the operation, she was taken to the ward following which her condition worsened. She complained of pain in the lower abdomen although it is normal for one to feel pain at the incision site. She was given painkillers to relieve the pain,” Ogolla said.
Ogolla could not confirm what led to the death of the student saying that it will be established through a postmortem. The body was taken to the hospital’s mortuary section.
By Sitna Omar
