Journalist and strategic communications expert Josiah Odanga has accused Bondo Sub-County Hospital staff of delaying emergency treatment for his four-year-old daughter following a road accident.
He alleged that hospital staff required him to complete registration procedures before his daughter could receive emergency medical care.
In a Facebook post, Odanga said he arrived at the hospital carrying his injured daughter and immediately informed reception staff that she needed urgent care.
“On arrival, I immediately informed the receptionists that my daughter, whom I was holding in my arms, needed emergency medical attention, but they quickly asked whether I would be using the SHA or cash,” he said.
Odanga said he opted to use the Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme but was asked to produce his original national identity card as part of the registration process.
He said he did not have the document because the hospital visit was unplanned but offered to have it brought to the facility.
According to Odanga, his daughter had sustained injuries to her head and left leg. Her head was swollen, her leg was bleeding and she was crying uncontrollably.
He said his requests for the child to be attended to before completing the administrative procedures were unsuccessful, despite reminding staff that emergency medical treatment was a constitutional right.
Odanga said the receptionists directed him to complete the registration process or approach the clinician on duty if he believed the procedure could be bypassed.
Frustrated, he walked into a consultation room where a female healthcare worker was attending to another patient, he said.
After explaining that he was carrying an accident victim who needed urgent attention, Odanga said the worker entered another room and shut the door behind her.
Several minutes later, she emerged carrying masking tape but did not immediately attend to the child, he said.
Odanga alleged that a male colleague subsequently joined the worker and the two began joking and playfully struggling over the tape.
“The man was trying to snatch the tape from the lady as the lady resisted as they playfully laughed over it. It was then that I rebuked over what I considered to be an unprofessional conduct,” he said.
The male healthcare worker apologised and asked whether Odanga had completed the reception process, according to the father.
Odanga said the female worker later told him that staff had assessed the child and determined that she was out of danger.
He questioned how they could have reached that conclusion without physically examining her.
“I got so angry because they had not even touched my daughter, who had all along been wailing uncontrollably,” he said.
Odanga said he eventually left the hospital and took his daughter to a private facility in Bondo, where she received an initial assessment and treatment.
She was later referred to Siaya County Referral Hospital for a CT scan to determine whether she had sustained a serious head injury.
The family arrived at the referral hospital at about 11 a.m. but underwent the scan at approximately 4pm Odanga said, attributing part of the delay to difficulties he said staff encountered while navigating the SHA registration process.
The scan showed no serious head injury, he said, adding that the swelling subsided within two days.
The incident occurred on September 19, when a speeding motorcycle knocked down the child as she walked with her father in their neighbourhood at about 9.30 am, according to Odanga.
They arrived at Bondo Sub-County Hospital shortly afterwards.
The experience left him questioning whether public hospitals were adequately prepared to provide emergency care without administrative procedures delaying treatment.
“My experience has left me questioning whether emergency medical services at public hospitals are adequately equipped to offer immediate life-saving interventions without administrative procedures delaying treatment,” he said.
Article 43(2) of Kenya’s Constitution provides that no person shall be denied emergency medical treatment.
Section 7 of the Health Act, 2017, also provides for the right to emergency medical treatment.
Bondo Sub-County Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ogoti urged the complainants to engage the hospital management to facilitate an investigation into the allegations.
He said the complainants should raise their concerns with the management to establish what happened.
“I would like to speak to the person to establish the exact date and time of this incident so that we can take the necessary action,” Dr Ogati said.
He added that the hospital had CCTV cameras and that footage could be retrieved to establish what happened on the day in question, including whether the staff were attending to other patients.
“We have CCTV cameras in the hospital and can retrieve the footage to establish what happened that day, including whether the staff were attending to other patients,” he said.
Leave a comment