BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE PARIRENYATWA Group of Hospitals has been threatened with legal action for failing to provide a prosthetic leg to a minor whose leg was amputated in 2021 due to negligence by nursing staff.
Tiny Masvaure, the mother of the child, has engaged the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to force the hospital to honour its promise to provide the prosthetic leg.
In a letter addressed to the hospital, the ZLHR demanded that the hospital provide them with minutes on investigations that led to the amputation of the child’s leg.
“We remind you that according to provisions of the Constitution particularly section 62 which provides for access to information, our client Masvaure is entitled to be furnished with the requested information,” the letter read in part.
“In addition, section 191(2)(c) of the Constitution obliges State authorities to protect children from maltreatment, neglect or any form of abuse. Should you fail to furnish us with our client’s demands, we will be left with no option but to employ legal measures which shall be on your cost at a higher scale.”
The child was admitted at Mbuya Nehanda Maternity in December 2020 suffering from an asthmatic attack.
She was then certified fit, but the nurses prescribed an antibiotic which was administered to her through a cannula.
“A cannula was then put on the child’s hand and after two days our client noticed that the baby’s hand was swelling…there was pus coming out from where the cannula had been sighted,” the letter read.
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The cannula was removed, and “re-sighted onto the child’s leg and again after some hours, our client realised the baby’s leg was getting swollen.”
The swelling continued, but nursing staff took no action resulting in the leg being amputated on January 19.
- Follow Desmond on Twitter @DChingarande1
