Nairobi County has come clean on why a woman was forced to walk with her dead baby from Mbagathi Hospital to City Mortuary.
Last week, there was a public outcry local publications reported that Ms Immaculate Auma was forced to walk for close to five kilometres carrying the corpse of her six-month-old baby to the Kenyatta National Hospital Police Post and later to City Mortuary after the infant allegedly died at Mbagathi.
We lack facilities
In his own admission, Nairobi County acting Health minister Charles Kerich said lack of a utility vehicle at the hospital, non-vigilant security guards and an inefficient flow of information at the county hospital led Ms Auma to take the agonising walk to the mortuary.
Kerich said the nurse and the clinical officer who attended to the baby submitted an incident report.
It was later reviewed by the hospital’s management team, which identified gaps in services at Mbagathi.
“These gaps are an inefficient customer care desk, non-vigilant security at the gate, a not-so-comprehensive death notification form and lack of a utility vehicle,” said Mr Kerich.
Dead on arrival
Kerich, however, downplayed allegations that the baby was admitted and later died at the facility, stating that the said baby was confirmed dead on arrival by a paediatric clinical officer when Ms Auma arrived at 9.45am on Wednesday.