Tamale Central Hospital accused of negligence over death of pregnant woman
Authorities of the Tamale Central Hospital in the Northern Region have been accused of negligence, resulting in the death of a 27-year-old pregnant woman.
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Family members of Rakiya Yakubu (the deceased) maintain that had the deceased received adequate and efficient medical care, her death could have been averted.
Narrating his experience to newsmen in Tamale, the husband of the deceased, Mr Alhassan Yakubu, stated that he sent his wife to the Tamale Central Hospital last Monday when she was in labour and upon examination, the medical personnel deemed it necessary to admit her to the maternity ward.
Mr Yakubu alleged that Rukiya was not given any medical attention until the next day (Tuesday) when the doctor in charge reviewed her condition and said he suspected she had malaria. The doctor explained that her temperature was 37 degrees celsius, which is above the normal temperature of 36 degrees celsius, and placed her on malaria treatment.
Mr Yakubu said upon seeing his wife in serious pain, he requested that she be released to him to be sent to a different hospital but the hospital authorities refused.
He added that he also suggested to the authorities to operate upon the deceased to save her life and that of her unborn child but the hospital authorities allegedly declined his request again. Mr Yakubu said Rakiya passed away in the wee hours of last Thursday.
When contacted on the issue, the Administrator of the Tamale Central hospital, Mr Jeremiah Tiimob, said officially they had received a complaint from the relatives of the deceased.
According to him, an investigation into the woman's death would be conducted.
He, however, noted that the family claimed the deceased was brought to the hospital on Monday, but when the family noticed that the deceased condition was getting worse on Wednesday, it made a request to the authorities that they wanted to transfer her to the Tamale Teaching Hospital but the request was denied.
The administrator noted that ideally, as an institution, their code of ethics and the patient charter gave patients the right to opt out of a treatment if they wished to do so.
By Vincent Amenuveve/Daily Graphic/Ghana
