Kenyatta National Hospital on Thursday hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after neurosurgeons operated on a wrong patient after a mix-up.
It is reported that two men were wheeled into the hospital on Sunday; one in need of surgery to remove a blood clot and the other requiring medical attention to heal a swelling in his head.
There was a mix-up in their identification tags and the wrong patient was taken to theatre.
The surgeons realised the mistake two hours into the operation after opening up the patient and discovering the patient did not have a clot in the brain.
[caption caption="File Photo of Surgeons at KNH"]
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They quickly consulted a senior neurosurgeon who advised them to close up the patient's head.
Sources indicate that the surgery was recommended by a doctor who conducted a CT scan but the files were mixed up leading to the error.
An employee at the hospital who sort anonymity, however, came to the defense of the doctors noting it was not their fault.
“The staff in the theatre had no way of telling they were operating on the wrong patient because he was unconscious.
“Besides, the file details and patient label tallied,” he stated.
Following the blunder, a neurosurgeon was suspended and the hospital’s chief executive officer Lilly Koros also announced the suspension of the ward nurse, theatre receiving nurse and the anaesthetist who were on duty that night.
“The management has suspended the admission rights of a neurosurgery registrar and issued him with a show-cause letter for apparently operating on the wrong patient,” stated Koros.
[caption caption="Kenyatta National Hospital CEO Lilly Koros"]
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