Death of 10-year-old boy: NGOs in health suspect ‘investigation’ could delay action

The Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Health has called on authorities at the Tema General Hospital to move quickly with the probe into the death of a 10-year-old boy who was allegedly administered with a wrong medication at the facility.

According to the President of the Coalition, Dr Gabriel Benakuu, a lengthy investigation into the fatal incident was not even necessary because existing frameworks that regulate the work of health workers, such as protocols for treatment of a patient and the Patients Right Charter, could bring closure to the matter.

“Authorities are trying to be silent on the critical issues,” he said on current affairs programme, PM Express that aired on the Joy News channel on Multi TV, Thursday.

Last week, the Tema General Hospital made the headlines after revelations that a ten-year-old boy died from complications allegedly resulting from a drug prescribed by the hospital’s pharmacy.

Director of the hospital, Dr Opoku Adusei, has refrained from commenting extensively on the matter, insisting he did not want to pre-empt the outcome of the investigations.

However, Dr Benakuu believes a full report could have been compiled within 24-hours of the incident.

“A report should have come in early enough,” he said.

“This tells us that our health system is not strengthened enough. There is so much lax and negligence at not only the Tema General Hospital but all over the country,” he laments.

According to the mother of the deceased 10-year-old, Mabel Senahey, a Doctor at the Tema General Hospital prescribed 50mg of the analgesic Naklofen Duo Capsule for her son, however, the hospital’s Pharmacist changed it to 75mg.

She said when she notified the doctor about the discrepancy, the doctor directed her to go ahead and administer the drug.

Shortly after her son took the medicine, he started complaining of heartburn and stomach pains which forced the mother to bring the boy back to the hospital.

According to her, her repeated attempts to get the nurses on duty to call in any of the doctors to attend to her son proved futile.

The boy squirmed and yelled in pain but the nurses were not to be bothered, Mabel Senahey alleged.

“I am challenging him [Dr Adusei] to use his leadership to take critical actions…I am saying this without prejudice that if the systems were put in place properly at the hospital, there shouldn’t be any crisis to be calling for investigations now,” Dr Benakuu said.

Also on the nightly current affairs programme was Christian Malm-Hesse, a private legal practitioner, who faulted parts of Dr Benakuu’s submissions.

He said some of Dr Benkuu’s comments ventured into the realm of speculation.

“As this borders much on legal matters, that is if they [hospital] will seek that arena, the speculations will not suffice,” he said.

Source: Myjoyonline.com