The boy’s fate nearly made me cry!
Sep 23, 2005
SIR — I almost cried on Tuesday morning when I read an article about a young boy, Peter okumu, a seven-month old baby who had his tender arm amputated at Mbale Hospital after suffering an injection mishap at Tororo Hospital.
SIR — I almost cried on Tuesday morning when I read an article about a young boy, Peter okumu, a seven-month old baby who had his tender arm amputated at Mbale Hospital after suffering an injection mishap at Tororo Hospital.
All of this was because of a careless nurse at Tororo Hospital.
first of all, he could not properly inject an intravenous fluid and secondly the same nurse and her supervisor or whoever was in charge could not responsibly monitor whether the injected quinine was flowing normally. This was negligence of the highest order which could have resulted in the boy’s death. And where was the pediatrician of that children’s ward all the time the boy was in the ward with a swollen and rotting arm?
Peter’s future has been jeopardised because first of all he is just seven months old. when he grows up he will want to know what happened to his arm. The news that a negligent nurse caused his handicap will torture him forever. Then imagine that Peter was destined to be a doctor. would he be able to handle patients with both hands when one was cut midway? This handicap will adversely affect his occupation or profession so much that he might fail to make it in life.
I would like to urge Peter’s parents to do him justice while it is still early by suing both the hospital for vicarious liability and the particular nurse for negligence of duty resulting in the disfigurement of their child. In their suit, they should ask for compensation and damages for both physical and psychological torture to the boy, including damages for future loss of employment due to incapacity to work normally (handicapped).
This suit, if successfully pursued in our law courts, will teach many negligent medical workers a lesson not to take the lives of patients for granted.
I request the health minister to take special interest in this case and see that those responsible give a convincing reason why they should not be punished.
Wilson Kakaire
Kampala
All of this was because of a careless nurse at Tororo Hospital.
first of all, he could not properly inject an intravenous fluid and secondly the same nurse and her supervisor or whoever was in charge could not responsibly monitor whether the injected quinine was flowing normally. This was negligence of the highest order which could have resulted in the boy’s death. And where was the pediatrician of that children’s ward all the time the boy was in the ward with a swollen and rotting arm?
Peter’s future has been jeopardised because first of all he is just seven months old. when he grows up he will want to know what happened to his arm. The news that a negligent nurse caused his handicap will torture him forever. Then imagine that Peter was destined to be a doctor. would he be able to handle patients with both hands when one was cut midway? This handicap will adversely affect his occupation or profession so much that he might fail to make it in life.
I would like to urge Peter’s parents to do him justice while it is still early by suing both the hospital for vicarious liability and the particular nurse for negligence of duty resulting in the disfigurement of their child. In their suit, they should ask for compensation and damages for both physical and psychological torture to the boy, including damages for future loss of employment due to incapacity to work normally (handicapped).
This suit, if successfully pursued in our law courts, will teach many negligent medical workers a lesson not to take the lives of patients for granted.
I request the health minister to take special interest in this case and see that those responsible give a convincing reason why they should not be punished.
Wilson Kakaire
Kampala