Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Doctors to be charged over death



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By PAUL OGEMBA pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, February 20  2012 at  22:30
The medical board has recommended that three doctors at the Nairobi Hospital be charged for allegedly causing a patient’s death 10 years ago.
The decision follows claims by the widow that the doctors neglected her husband.
Ms Tabitha Njeri Kihara sued the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, saying it was not impartial in the investigation into the death of her husband, Mr Gordonson Kihara Karingithi.
She said the board was protecting the doctors or the hospital.
However, in a letter to Ms Kihara’s lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, the medical board said a preliminary inquiry committee had recommended charges against the doctors and the hospital.
The director of the board, Dr Francis Kimani, said it was clear the patient should have been admitted on January 4, 2002.
“However, he was discharged notwithstanding his condition and the doctors did not obtain a signed advice to substantiate allegations that Ms Kihara refused to accept her husband’s admission,” said Dr Kimani.
He said the board found that Nairobi Hospital failed to prove that it had an appropriate management system at the time, hence the discharge.
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He said the board had recommended charges against the hospital, Kenya Hospital Association, Dr Andrew Kibet, Dr A. K. Ndonga and Dr Paul Maundu.
Ms Kihara said that on January 4, 2002, she received a call that her husband was at the accident and emergency department with alcohol intoxication.
“At first I was told my husband had ‘mixed beers’ and only required detoxification. I found him writhing in pain in the corridors and unable to speak,” she said.
She said the doctor on duty told her the inability to speak was a result of the detoxification and he would regain consciousness.
On the doctor’s advice, she took him home, but his condition worsened, and she rushed him back to the hospital.
“He was taken to the resuscitation room where he was attended by three doctors. After some time, I was told he was dead,” she said, adding a postmortem established that he died of hypertension.

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