Luweero Hospital on the spot over death of mother in labour

The tragic demise of Ms Specioza Nabasirye, a mother of six on January 15- just minutes after undergoing an operation to save both her life and the newborn at Luweero Hospital has triggered an investigation into the real cause of death as relatives insist that the medics at the health facility demanded Shs200,000 before they could attend to the mother.

Putting the public health facility on the spot, Ms Nabasirye’s caregiver claimed that she made endless pleas for the Luweero Hospital staff to attend to her patient but all in vain- leading to her (Ms Nabasirye) death.  

“They took a very long time to attend to my patient as the medical staff demanded Shs200, 000 saying it was for purchasing the requirements for the deceased’s operation. It is unfortunate that the mother was later pronounced dead shortly after leaving the theater,” she said.

Mr Laban Otuka, the husband to the deceased said the family did not have the money at hand but tried to contact some relatives to have the money paid for the operation.

“It is sad that I have lost my wife under circumstances related to negligence by the medics at Luweero Hospital,” he noted.

When contacted, Luweero Hospital Senior Hospital Administrator Mr Robert Lukenge dismissed the allegations of negligence lined against the hospital staff although he admitted that the medics requested the caregivers to provide consumables required at the theatre.

“The patient reported at the hospital on January 13, 2022 and was examined by the medics. She later disappeared from the facility but later turned up on January 15. The Doctor on duty reviewed her condition and advised that she would require an operation. She was requested to get the consumables to help sustain the operation since we are currently short of the medical supplies. After the operation, the patient and baby were transferred to the Intensive care unit (ICU) where Ms Specioza Nabasirye later died from,” he explained.

Luweero District Chairperson Mr Erusto told this publication that authorities have taken up the matter for further investigations.

“It is also true that the medical superintendent had briefed the district team that the medics asked the patient and her caregiver to bring some of the consumables that cost about Shs150, 000. We have suspended the burial arrangements and called for a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death,” he said on Monday.

He added: “We are puzzled about the inadequate medical supplies at Luweero Hospital. The Hospital last received medical supplies in October 2021. We do not know what is happening after failing to access the medical supplies for 3 consecutive supply cycles.”

About Luweero Hospital

Luweero Hospital registers an average of 300 deliveries per month with an outpatient turn up of about 6,000 individuals per month.

The facility is among the newly upgraded facilities from a Health Centre IV to a District General Hospital with that status confirmed by government in 2020.