NENO-(MaraviPost)—The battle against maternal, neonatal deaths in Malawi was on Friday deliberately frustrated by nurses at Neno district hospital as their negligence cost pregnant woman’s life, Maravi Post has established.According to impeccable sources, the deceased who is yet to be identified by this reporter, arrived at the hospital in the afternoon but the nurses on duty did not attend her as they claimed to be busy with another patient.
The source said the woman died of hemorrhage –a condition characterized by excessive loss of blood- just after three hours and the only thing the hospital did was just to write a death report.
“What happened is gross negligence and a shame to nursing profession. The woman’s life could have been saved but the nurses chose to be unprofessional with reasons best known to themselves.
“The woman was left unattended for three hours and it’s painful that the only attention she got was just to write her death report,” said one of the health workers at the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A relation to the deceased told this reporter that it will take time to forget the injustice the nurses did to their beloved family member.
“I am failing to believe that she has gone. I will live to remember what the nurses have done,” he said amid unfeigned grief.
Maravi Post thorough investigation also found that the nursing department enjoys cordial relationship with the management team thereby casting doubt on its integrity to take any disciplinary action.
The development comes at a time when different organisations are in a fierce battle against maternal, neonatal deaths in Malawi and nurses are a focal point.
Globally, over 210 million women become pregnant every year. However 15 percent of these pregnancies end in complications causing deaths of around 358,000 women per 100 000 live births according to the Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) Services Assessment Report carried out in 2011.
The report also observed that 99 per cent of untimely deaths occur in developing countries which Malawi forms part of.
According to the report majority of the deaths (80 per cent) are caused by severe hemorrhage (21 per cent), unsafe abortions (13per cent), eclampsia (12 per cent), sepsis (8 per cent) and obstructed labour (8 per cent).
In 2004 the maternal mortality rate in Malawi stood at 984 deaths per every 100 000 live births according to a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) done by UNICEF.
Comments
10 responses to “Neno hospital nurses accused of negligence as pregnant woman dies of hemorrhage”
the fact of the matter is that Nurses at Neno District Hospital are much favoured by the management simply because most of the top officials’ wives are nurses. for instance, DHO is married to a nurse and obviously Nazimera listen much to his wife even on office issues. If a nurse has done a blunder, DHO develops cold-feet. but a simple blunder made by a clinician, the management team which is always handling nurses with kid gloves, become the Lions. It’s very unfair and unacceptable. that’s not the way we should work, the management should change its management style. if they are having affairs with the nurses, they should not do it at the expense of innocent clinicians, lab technicians, pharmacy technicians etc. if they don’t want us we can leave, because there so many hospitals in Malawi, and we are employees of Malawi government not Neno hospital management. It is the worst management team I have ever seen in my profession. Pregnant women have been losing life due to negligence of nurses but no disciplinary action taken, and you call yourself managers. my foot. please spare time to go for refresher courses in administration. that will help you very much in running this beautiful hospital. You make decisions based on what your wives called nurses tell you in your matrimonial bedrooms, that’s foolish. office issues should be dealt with as office issues. don’t bring in personal hatred because of the so called your wives. We are tired and we want change or just send us to some hospitals. we can’t accept to be victims every time yet some are just going escort free even if they do a blunder. the woman died but you are busy attacking innocent people instead of disciplining the concerned nurses. and we have this lady called DNO, is she well upstairs? how can a sane DNO backing mediocrity which cost the life of an innocent pregnant woman? I think she doesn’t deserve to be DNO because she doesn’t value life. Every time she sides with the nurses even when it is obvious that the nurses made avoidable blunder. let’s be professional in handling office matters. we claim to be graduates, so actions should exude the gas of the university corridors, and people will respect the lecturers who molded us into what we are. let’s allow people to start questioning the integrity of the colleges and universities we were decorated with all these qualifications that put us into these positions.
Sincere regards,
Management team member
well said Salima DHO. The management team should not sit back and watch. this a clear sign that all is not well at the hospital, something must be done ASAP, otherwise it will be difficult for these well trained nurses and the clinicians to work as a team. please, I know most of you go to church and you are aware that LOVE is the pillar of God’s commandments. so try as much as possible to LOVE one another. timakudalirani kwambiri, popanda inu game mbola. Don’t despise each other here; a nurse is very important just as a doctor, clinician, pharmacist, anesthetist. of-course on a light note, enanu mukunyoza ma nurse but I for one believes that Nurses are the pillar of the health system.
Let us react to this story with sober mind. the author of the story has reported nothing but the truth. it is you misguided people who are spoiling the whole thing.
the way comments are flooding I sense lack of togetherness at the Neno DHO. the comments are clear that there is no good relationship between the nurses and other departments. My advice is that management should invite all heads of department and discuss on the way forward so that you should start afresh by working as a team. The nurses, in my observation, seem also to be a problem so management should take time to discipline them. I wish you all the best as your are preparing to work as a team. zomanenerana kwa mabwanazo amapanga ndi anthu olima mu nseu not you college products.
ma nurse kuganiza kwawo kumakhala kocheperako chifukwa 90% ya nthawi yawo ku college amangoyimba nyimbo
ma nurse aku Neno chomwe amatha ndi uhule ndi mwano kwa ma patient.
Guys muli ndi chi ntchito kwabasi mixing alot of issues
kodi ma nurse aku Neno mwatopa ndi kuseva sentence kumeneko? pemphani transfer osati muzipha anthu kumeneko. iwenso DHO ndamva kuti umakondera ma nurse because nkazi wako ndi nurse, usamale nditha kukupititsa ku Queens ukatuwe uwone.
DHO Nazimera ndi azizake favour nurses; main reason is that nkazi wakeso ndi nurse. tima nurse timeneti timapanga mwano kwambiri kwa ma clinician ann ntchito yathu nthawi zina imavuta chifukwa cha agwape amenewa.
clinicians at Neno d.h.o are in boiling sulfur when they make little mistakes management consider them as drunkards hence disciplinary actions and report writing is an order of a day to them but if nurses make mistakes impunity is what we know. please management learn not to take sides, hope this a lesson .
very bad. the problem is that nowadays nursing is no longer a calling as it used to be. people are just flocking to this profession because of money.
please Neno hospital nurses learn to treasure human life. how could you sink so low to do such an evil thing? that is a shame