The Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the management of Mbagathi hospital are on the spotlight after the Senate begun investigating the alleged loss of a patient’s kidney at the facility.
In the bizarre case that once again brings to the fore inadequacies in the city hospitals, a 22-year-old woman accuses the facility of ‘taking away’ her kidney during a surgery two years ago.
Ivine Kinagu claims she visited the facility with severe stomachache in 2019. After several tests, the doctors recommended a surgery, which was conducted.
Soon after the operation, she developed complications, forcing her to go back to the same hospital where it was realised that she did not have one kidney.
“When I went to Mbagathi, I was diagnosed with stomach problems and was told I will need surgery. An operation was done after tests, but nobody mentioned kidney removal or that I had a missing kidney,” Kinagu was quoted saying last month.
The incident has attracted the attention of senators who have since launched investigations to establish the truth.
Nominated senator Getrude Musuruve raised the matter in the Senate, prompting the speaker to order House health committee to get to the bottom of it.
“The Health committee should investigate the mystery surrounding Ivine Kinagu’s missing kidney,” Musuruve said.
The legislator also wants the committee to get a report on the symptoms and diagnosis surrounding Kinagu’s illness when she visited Mbagathi Hospital in 2019.
She also wants to know the medical plans the medics at the facility had for the patient based on the symptoms she exhibited at the time.
“The committee should explain measures taken by the hospital to compensate the injustice meted on the patient,” she demanded.
Musuruve further sought to know the steps taken to ensure the medics who handled the patient are held responsible.
NMS deputy director of medical services Ouma Oluga and Mbagathi medical superintendent Loice Mutai did not respond to phone class and messages seeking their comments on the case.
According to media reports, Kinagu claimed she felt fatigued and persistent stomach pains soon after the operation.
The persistent pain forced her to go back to the facility for a check-up. She did another scan where it was established she was missing one kidney.
She was reportedly advised to go for further test to confirm one kidney was missing. She went to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital where the same was confirmed.
-Edited by SKanyara
