The family said that the baby faces the possibility of growing up without the use of his one hand due to a dressing that was allegedly wrapped too tightly around his hand.
THE FAMILY of a pair of premature twins want the heads of health officials at Hester Malan Hospital in Douglas to roll after they claimed that negligence resulted in one of them allegedly losing a finger.
The family said that the baby faces the possibility of growing up without the use of his one hand due to a dressing that was allegedly wrapped too tightly around his hand.
According to the uncle of the mother of the twin boys, Adam du Plooy, his niece went into labour three weeks ago and her boys were born prematurely.
“My niece gave birth to the twins and because they were born premature their weight was not satisfactory. The nurses at the hospital then put them on feeding tubes in order for them to pick up weight. We were not allowed inside the ward because of the Covid-19 regulations but kept in contact with the mother telephonically. My niece told me that the one baby was crying non-stop,” said Du Plooy.
“We called her the next day and she said that it appeared that the baby was pulling at the feeding pipe inserted in his hand and he was wailing. She said she had told the nurse about her concern but they did not pay attention to the matter.
“My niece then decided to take the dressing that was wrapped around the baby’s hand off. To her shock, she found that her baby’s hand was purple and black. She called me and she was in a state and we went to see her at the hospital.”
Du Plooy said that he and other family members met with his niece at the gate to the hospital.
“We met with my niece and she showed us a picture of the baby’s hand, which she took with her cellphone. She was very emotional and crying.
“One of the nursing sisters came and asked her in a rude manner why she was crying and told her that she should be with her children. The sister said that she should not be showing us any pictures.
“We then told the sister that my niece was clearly in a state about her child. The sister calmed down and said the doctor will look at the hand.”
Du Plooy said that his niece and the twins were then transferred to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley.
“On Monday, December 21 my niece called saying that they had been transferred to Kimberley. The doctors in Kimberley said they could not save the hand but one of the senior doctors said they will monitor the hand.
“The next day, Tuesday, December 22, I again received a call from my niece telling me that when they changed the dressing on the child’s hand, one of his fingers fell off.
“She said that the doctor told her that the dressing that was put on by the health officials in Douglas had resulted in the blockage of the blood circulation to the child’s hand.
Du Plooy said that the family were upset and furious over the alleged “gross negligence” of health officials at Hester Malan Hospital.
“This is heartbreaking because now a child is subjected to possible surgery and losing his one hand due to negligence. Someone has to provide answers on what exactly went wrong. Plus those who are responsible for this should be dealt with.”
Northern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Lebogang Majaha said they will investigate the matter.
“If the information is found to be true, then action will be taken against those found to be responsible,” said Majaha.
