A 21-year-old woman passed away hours after giving birth in Bomet County after the hospital failed to transfer her for specialised treatment. The death comes barely two weeks after a three-year-old girl succumbed while awaiting treatment in another county hospital.
According to the family, the woman died from excessive bleeding while at Cheptalala Sub-County Hospital awaiting to be moved to Longisa County Referral Hospital. Excess bleeding, or postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), as it is scientifically known, is the leading cause of maternal deaths in Kenya.
The family, while speaking to the media, alleged that the lack of a functioning ambulance and laxity from the hospital were to blame for the death.
According to the family, a county ambulance stationed at the hospital did not have a functioning battery and fuel and could not transport their loved one to the referral hospital.
A member of the family told the press that the family rushed the woman to the hospital to give birth. However, after giving birth, the woman began bleeding excessively.
Doctors recommended the woman be transferred to Longisa County Referral Hospital and called the ambulance driver. However, it would be three hours before the family received an answer on whether or not the woman would be moved.
“The driver did not arrive immediately after being called. We waited for about three hours,” narrated one of the family members.
He went on to add, “I rushed back to the doctor and asked why the driver was not there yet. The doctor told me that the ambulance had no battery.”
According to the family, the woman passed away barely an hour after the doctor confirmed the ambulance was not going anywhere. The family now claims the hospital did not act quickly enough to treat and stop the bleeding that resulted in her death.
In cases of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) or severe bleeding after giving birth, it is advised for quick action since one might need a blood transfusion or surgery.
This death comes amid fallout following another death of a little girl who had been stung by bees being left unattended for hours at Longisa County Referral. She died in her hospital bed after not being granted care for five hours.
