Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) management called for an inquest into the death of Travis Maina, who was rushed to the facility with a fork jembe lodged into the head.
According to KNH chief executive officer, Evanson Kamuri, who appeared before Senate Health Committee on Tuesday, December 6, baby Travis could have been a victim of domestic wrangles between the father and mother.
The hospital argued that the gravity of the accident could not have been caused by other children, as claimed by the mother.
“It is an issue that requires to be investigated by another body. When we informed the woman about the death of her son, she started c about how her baby had been killed by her husband,” KNH CEO Evanson Kamuri told Senate Health Committee.
“The mother needs to come clean about what happened. We are very sorry for what happened but we have also been asking ourselves questions. The injury was severe and it could not have been inflicted by other children while playing,” he added.
In response to the Health Committee queries by Uasin Gishu senator, Jackson Mandago, on why the hospital did not take the baby directly to the theatre, Kamuri stated that he had lost so much blood.
“We first needed to give him blood. And being a baby, that process is much slower because, if we could have given him too much blood at once, there was a risk of cardiac arrest,” Kamuri insisted.
Judy Muthoni, the deceased mother, had earlier told the committee that her six-year-old son had struck the baby.
The older son reported the matter to Muthoni’s aunt, who rushed to notify her of the ordeal before they both rushed to the hospital.
“My aunt came to the fence and told me that Travis had been struck and my cousin had rushed him to the nearby dispensary,” Muthoni stated amid sobs.
Both parents pointed an accusing finger at the KNH for failing to act swiftly to save Travis.
The mother claimed that she waited nearly 14 hours for her son to be taken into the operating room, and when he was, he breathed his last before her eyes.
However, the committee vowed to examine both claims before issuing a directive.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE