The Kajiado County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in-charge of Health, Esther Somoire has suspended two county government employees following the death of a mother and her child under unclear circumstances.
Somoire confirmed the suspension of the Ambulance driver and the Nurse who were on duty during last Friday’s incident where a 26-year-old woman died after jumping from the ambulance which was ferrying her sick son to hospital.
While addressing the press at her office, the Health CEC emphasized that the safety of patients is paramount irrespective of whether they are in a health facility or inside an ambulance.
“As a department, we are committed to ensure that we get to the bottom of this matter because we have standard procedures that always guide our health professionals while undertaking their duties to ensure that we save lives and in that breadth, we have suspended the driver and the accompanying nurse who were on duty on that day pending investigations,” said Somoire.
Leslie Naiso, who was expectant, jumped out of the moving ambulance after her ailing son, Solomon Leslie succumbed to illness as he was being transferred to Kajiado County Referral Hospital.
The boy had been treated at Il Bissil Health Centre before being transferred to the referral hospital as his condition was said to have worsened.
According to a police report on the incident, the woman opened the rear door of the county government ambulance and jumped to her death on seeing that her son’s condition had worsened.
“On reaching at the location of the accident, the mother of the ailing child opened the rear door of the vehicle upon sensing that the boy’s condition was worsening, jumped out of the moving vehicle and as a result, she sustained multiple injuries,” states the report.
Both the child and the mother were rushed to the Kajiado Referral Hospital where the boy was pronounced dead on arrival while the mother succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment.
The bodies were moved to the same hospital’s mortuary while the ambulance was towed to Kajiado Police Station for inspection.
However, according to an eye witness who did not want to be named, the nurse was sitting in front with the driver and the woman was at the back alone with her sick child.
“It is absolutely shocking and unimaginable that a patient can be transferred to another hospital without being the under care of a medical official at the back of the ambulance. The nurse was sitting with the driver at the front and they didn’t realize that the mother had jumped out of the car and they even drove up to Kumpa and then turned back asking us if we had seen someone jump out of the ambulance,” he said.
The Kajiado Central Sub County Commander, Daudi Loronyokwe said investigations were on-going and both the driver and nurse had already recorded statements.
“Already, the driver and the nurse who were on board the ambulance have recorded statements with us and after conclusion of the investigations, we will definitely take action against the responsible individuals,” he said.
By Rop Janet/Albert Lemomo
