A Sonderwater family is still seeking answers to the mysterious death of their 1-year-old baby girl, Mbalienhle Matlou after a local medical doctor performed a surgical operation on her on 9 January.
The baby’s mother, 34-year-old Maggy Matlou believes her daughter may have died at the Ikageng doctor’s practice but he did not inform her. Instead, the heartbroken mother says, he sent his assistant to address her.
‘He put the baby on my back and said she would wake up later. He told me to come back tomorrow. I had to walk five kilometres to my home in Sonderwater thinking that the baby was sleeping. Sadly, little Mbali did not wake up,’ she said tearfully.
Police investigating an inquest case
The emergency services were dispatched to the area and declared the baby dead. The Ikageng police later opened an inquest case.
Maggy recalled the events prior to the surgical operation. ‘In July last year, my baby burnt her chest when she pulled a cup of boiling water off the table. We rushed her to Potchefstroom Hospital for treatment.’
The clinical manager of Potchefstroom Hospital, Dr Michael Shakung confirmed the incident and says the baby was admitted on 5 July 2017 with burns on her upper chest, neck and a small area on her face. ‘She suffered 8 per cent burns and spent the next 12 days in the hospital. She was discharged when there was an improvement and she was referred to the local clinic for a check-up while she was at home,’ he said.
Mbalienhle’s parents, Maggy and Ntsiki Mtuzula (35) say the scar started itching and swelling in December. No medication or ointment could provide any relief so they took her back to the hospital doctor. He said there was nothing he could do about it.
‘We were desperate to see our baby happy and comfortable again so we took her to a local doctor. He said it was a minor operation and he would be able to do it. He said he would cut away the swelling and perform a series of operations,’ said the shattered parents.
According to Maggy, the doctor decided to operate on the whole area without telling them. She says he had tried to administer the anaesthetic the week before but he could not sedate the baby. He told the parents to come back the following week when he had found a stronger dosage to be able to do the operation.
Health Professions Council of South Africa is looking into the matter
Priscilla Sekhonyana, the communications manager of the Health Professions’ Council of South Africa (HPCSA) says they are looking into the matter. ‘We would encourage the parents to immediately lodge a complaint with the HPCSA so that a formal investigation can be initiated,’ she said.
Another local doctor who wanted to remain anonymous says general practitioners may do operations in the surgery. ‘There are risks with all the operations; they just need to act with caution. I perform more local anaesthetics, they’re safer,’ he said.
Shakung explained that the itchiness the baby was experiencing may have been post-neuropathic pain – nerve pain that continues long after the burn has healed. It differs from patient to patient.
If general practitioners do not have the right equipment they should refer patients to the hospital
Shakung said GPs should always follow the correct procedures when they encounter cases of major surgical operations. ‘If they do not have the right equipment, machinery or skills, they should rather refer the patient to the hospital, which is accredited to administer general anaesthetic and perform major operations.
‘We work hand in hand with the local GPs. After seeing the patient, we give the doctor a discharge summary to show them,’ he said.
Shakung appealed to the community to report health facilities like private hospitals, public hospitals or GPs to the HPCSA and the medical ombudsman if they are not happy about their services.
*‘No comment!’ This is what the local doctor said regarding the incident.
*This is a developing story.
