Four-year-old girl dies after tooth extraction at Free State hospital, MEC calls for calm

The Free State Department of Health has launched an investigation into the death of a four-year-old girl.

The child recently died after a tooth extraction procedure at Botshabelo District Hospital. She had visited the hospital with her mother on Tuesday, 9 July.

What may have gone wrong?

Free State Department of Health MEC Monyatso Viceroy Mahlatsi on Sunday said this was an “unusual” occurrence, considering the hospital had nearly four years of children tooth removal experience.

As a result, the little girl’s death led to the temporary closure of the orthodontic service at Botshabelo to thoroughly probe the issue.

“We are subjecting this matter to a thorough adverse events investigation as it is a very unusual occurrence. Our highly trained professional staff were in charge of this procedure and have done many procedures successfully on the same day and in previous times resulting in happy children and satisfied parents” said Mahlatsi.

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According to the Free State Department of Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, the young girl’s family was alerted about her death by the senior clinical manager of the hospital.

Mvambi said they were in the dark about what had transpired during the procedure.

“It is understandable that this incident would have shocked the family and nothing may immediately make sense to both the clinicians and the family, but the hospital is doing everything in its ability to get to the bottom of the matter so that the family can get answers and the clinicians can also clearly understand what may have gone wrong,” Mvambi added.

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MEC’s condolences

Mahlatsi extended words of comfort to the bereaved family and assured them that the department would uncover the truth and get to the bottom of it.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to the family on their loss and will ensure that the investigation is speedily concluded so that we can all know what happened and what we can do next to overcome this unfortunate situation,” said Mahlatsi.

Moreover, despite the toddler’s unprecedented death, Mahlatsi said the event should not overshadow all the good that has come out of the Botshabelo District Hospital.

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“This single incident has devastated the clinical community, but must never be allowed to negatively dent the image of the hospital that will still need to continue meeting the needs of many people that are dependent on it,” he said.

“The hospital community at large is saddened by this and our deepest sympathy goes to the family and the community,” said Mvambi.

The investigation is ongoing, and the department will provide updates as more information becomes available.

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