Doctors council demands answers in Mwingi botched operation

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council has for the second time sought to intervene in a case in which a Mwingi woman was allegedly left barren after a botched operation at a private hospital.

Bententar Makaa, 34, has been seeking justice after an alleged C-section procedure at Mumbuni Maternity and Nursing Home Hospital in July last year left her unable to conceive.

Makaa was pregnant when she went to the hospital and the doctor decided to remove her pre-term baby. The operation was conducted but the placenta was left in the uterus as the wound was stitched.

Medical records indicate that the placenta started rotting in the uterus, leading to another operation at Embu General Hospital where the uterus, which had been irredeemably affected by the rot, was evacuated.

On Monday, September 7, council CEO Daniel Yumbya wrote a latter to Mumbuni Maternity and Nursing Home seeking a response to complaints lodged by Makaa against the facility. The hospital was told to respond in four days.

It was the second time the council was writing to the hospital after the initial letter dated February 27, 2020, was not responded to. The content of the earlier letter was similar to the one done this week.

“The council is in receipt of a complaint from Bententar Makaa Mbwau against your institution dated 18 February 2020. You are hereby required to submit the following  to the council before close of  business on September 11, 2020,” the letter reads.

The facility has been accused of negligence during an operation and failure to remove the placenta from the uterus, among other complaints. The hospital has been asked to provide details of the medical team that attended to the patient.

Further, Yumbya demands certified and paginated copies of the entire patient’s file IP NO: 2992, as well as any other relevant documents and information.

Contacted by the Star, however, the management of the hospital denied knowledge of the second letter but admitted having received the first one.

“They had called us in August and the lady asked whether we had received their letter by email. When we informed them we had not, they sent us a hard copy which we received in August,” said director Jane Munyua.

Another director said the facility was in the process of  responding to the first  letter they received from the council. They accused the patient of an attempt to revive a case that had already been settled.

“We had a meeting with the patient, her husband and two brothers; my husband was also present and we arrived at an agreement. The revival of the matter baffles me and is strange,”  the director said.