Hospital Leaves Mother Holding Dead Son for 6 Hours

A mother whose son died after spending 5 hours unattended to at a Nairobi hospital went through more pain carrying her child's body for 6 more hours before it was taken away.

Cynthia Juma watched her son Dominic Juma, who had been diagnosed with Meningitis, die while waiting to receive treatment at Mama Lucy Hospital.

Ms Juma narrated in a TV interview how they were frustrated at the hospital before eventually seeing the mortuary attendant 6 hours later.

 “The mortuary attendant was not around from 3pm to 9pm, they kept telling us the he was stuck in traffic,” she said.

The 3-year old's father, Gerald Juma, told Citizen TV that his son was diagonised with meningitis at around 10am and the doctor referred the case to Kenyatta National Hospital. 

“My son would not have died if only he received the attention that was necessary between 10am and 3pm,” he lamented.

The hospital's Medical Superintendent, Musa Mohammed, said ambulance services at the facility are always offered as soon as they are needed, adding that Dominic’s incident would be investigated.

The incident comes three months after an accident patient stayed for 18 hours in an ambulance before being admitted at KNH's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to insufficient bed space. 

Mr Alex Madaga, who had been denied admission in other city hospitals, succumbed to injuries sustained in a hit and run incident along Waiyaki Way, Nairobi.

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