Seven pregnant mothers die in labour - councillor
A pregnant mother waits for her turn to be attended to in Yumbe Hospital in West Nile. Councillors in Adjumani are investigating reports of unsafe delivery conditions in the district hospital. PHOTO BY FELIX WAROM OKELLO.
What you need to know:
The independent findings for the month of May, have led to a request for further investigations to verify and find solutions to the matter.
Adjumani
Pacara Sub-county Councillor Job Mundara has requested the Adjumani District health office to carry out an investigation to verify his independent findings that at least seven pregnant mothers died in the maternity ward of Adjumani hospital in one day in the month of May.
Presenting his findings to the district’s Social Services Committee yesterday, Mr Mundara said there is a problem in Adjumani hospital.
“I have comprehensive evidence to support these findings. We all have to closely monitor and supervise how the hospital is fairing in terms of service delivery,” Mr Mundara said.
Although he did not readily disclose details of his findings, Mr Mundara suggested that the district secretary for health makes a quick follow up of his report since there is urgent need to check the operation of the general hospital.
The shocking report which caught majority of the councillors and the technical officers by surprise has generated numerous discussions. When the LC5 chairperson, Mr Nixon Owole, inquired if the statement was authentic because it was ‘painful news to him’, Mr Mundara assured members that his report was accurate.
The medical superintendent, Dr Dominic Drametu, however, denied the report, saying only four people died of maternal death last year. He confirmed that two mothers died of bleeding, one woman died following an abortion, while another died of a ruptured uterus. “I am not sure whether the findings are true, unless the rest of the deaths occurred in a place I do not know,” Mr Drametu said.
Mr Owole suggested that the council verifies truth of the findings. “I will take the initiative of writing a letter to the police so that investigation into the matter can be properly followed because it is sad to hear mothers dying at this alarming rate,” Mr Owole said.
A report obtained from the office of the District Health Office, showed that the hospital has registered 22 deaths in the month of May, among which 10 deaths occurred to children under five while the 12 people who died are aged five and above.
