Shocking details about mother and baby’s death
Alicia's mouth, hands and feet already were turning blue when the ambulance picked her up from her home hours before she and her unborn baby girl died.
Alicia le Grange’s husband broke out in tears when the nurses told him there was nothing more they could do to save his wife and unborn baby.
Almost four hours after arriving at Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital, 27-year-old Le Grange and her unborn baby girl passed away due to a lack of oxygen.
Read the initial report here: Mother and baby die due to lack of oxygen
“Her mouth, hands and feet already were turning blue when she and my son got into the ambulance at their home in Randfontein at around 10am that morning,” Le Grange’s father-in-law Hans said, recollecting the events that led to his highly pregnant daughter-in-law’s trip to hospital.
From there the ambulance took a detour to Venterspos to pick up another patient.
At the township they found the patient had been taken to hospital already resulting in the ambulance having driven all the way for nothing.
When the couple eventually arrived at the hospital just after noon, Le Grange had to be stabilised.
“My son was told Alicia had to be transferred to Leratong Hospital because Yusuf Dadoo did not have the ICU facilities required to treat her,” Le Grange said.
It is believed Leratong did have a bed in their ICU available for the distressed mother.
According to her father-in-law, when the ambulance finally arrived to transport Alicia to Leratong, she got off the bed and onto the stretcher.
“However, in the ambulance Alicia’s face started twisting.”
Her husband then ran to the nurse and shouted that his wife needed help.
“It is too late, she is gone,” the nurse said to the husband, causing him to break down in tears.
The Le Grange family is shocked by the loss of Alicia and the unborn baby girl Amore, who was due on 8 August.
In a recorded interview with Hans, he explained how his son had not come to terms with the death of his wife and baby yet.
A statement from Yusuf Dadoo’s media liaison paints a totally different picture.
“According to our records the patient arrived in the hospital at five minutes past noon on 16 July with shortness of breath. On her arrival she was given oxygen and was nebulised and started with antibiotics. A chest X-ray was done and an ultrasound was performed showing no foetal heart beat. Arrangements to transfer her to Leratong Hospital were made. At the arrival of the ambulance she was stable but while transferring her to the ambulance her condition changed. Active resuscitation was done again with three doctors present, but unfortunately she died at 3.20pm,” Puseletso Mabidikame said in a statement.
The family approached a lawyer for legal assistance since they believe it is due to the hospital’s negligence that Alicia and her baby had died.
A private funeral service for Alicia and Amore will be held on 27 July in Krugersdorp.
Tragedy struck again in another incident at the hospital.
According to Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, another pregnant woman was told on Friday 17 July that her baby had died in her womb and she should come back the following Monday to have the foetus removed.
“This is horribly callous and medically dangerous to wait so long to remove a dead baby. Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital has long had a poor reputation in treating patients,” Bloom said.
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