Death of babies in spotlight
THE Public Service Commission (PSC) has ordered the Gauteng health department to report the mysterious death of six babies at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital to the Health Ombud, but Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku claims he has yet to receive such a report.
Masuku was replying to written questions in the Gauteng provincial legislature asked by the DA’s spokesperson on health Jack Bloom.
Bloom asked Masuku what kind of action was taken against the hospital’s medical and nursing staff following the death of the babies – who were less than four months old – between last July and August.
In his reply, Masuku said: “The report indicated a number of systemic challenges faced by the health system in Gauteng. These included overcrowding above bed allocation, shortage of equipment and disposable medical stock due to high turnover of babies that needed critical care.
“The investigation further noted that (there were) no appropriate isolation facilities for infectious neonates and a shortage of staff.
“The investigation also noted the lack of IPC (infection and prevention control) oversight.”
He explained that the cases have been referred to the PSC “for investigation and the department is awaiting the final report”. But PSC spokesperson Humphrey Ramafoko said they’ve finalised their report and ordered the department to report the deaths to the Health Ombud.
“The PSC has investigated the maladministration at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital, which among others, led to the death of the neonates.”
The former Health MEC in Gauteng, Dr GM Ramokgopa, was requested to approach the Health Ombud to investigate the clinical issues, which included the death of neonates, and she agreed. “On conclusion of the maladministration investigation, the report was submitted to MEC B Masuku.”
The outbreak claimed its first victim at the hospital on July 1 last year. Others died between last July and August. Last year, a report by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) found that due to the overcrowding, control measures were compromised. The report found that 90 newborns were placed in a ward with a capacity of 61.
Reacting to the written replies, Bloom said there has been no accountability for the deaths of six babies last year from klebsiella at the Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus, which continues to have a high maternal and neonatal death rate.
“Despite these damning findings, Masuku’s response to disciplinary actions against those responsible is that, ‘Deaths in the Neonatal ICU reflect conditions in the health system. Systems are in place to prevent infections and no definite source of infection was identified at the time’.
“This hospital continues to have worryingly high maternal mortality and neonatal mortality rates. The average Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) this year is 212 per 100 000, which is more than double the target of 100 per 100 000. The average Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) is 19 per 100 000 which is also double the 9.5 per 100 000 target.” He said Masuku attributed the high MMR and NMR figures to factors such as the high burden of disease in pregnant patients, the high number of referrals of high-risk patients from surrounding clinics and district hospitals, as well as the shortage of staff personnel particularly nurses, among other things.