- Title: Mali paediatrics ward receives funds after infected babies undergo amputations
- Date: 19th September 2019
- Summary: BAMAKO, MALI (RECENT) (REUTERS) BABY YACOUBA IN HIS MOTHER'S ARMS MOTHER GIVING YACOUBA TO HER HUSBAND SERIBA COULIBALY COULIBALY'S FACE COULIBALY WITH YACOUBA YACOUBA'S AMPUTATED ARM (SOUNDBITE) (Bambara) SERIBA COULIBALY, FATHER OF AMPUTEE BABY YACOUBA, SAYING: "There were seven days of treatment (for his respiratory problem). The colour of the baby's arm was changing little by little. There were black and white marks. So I told the medical staff that he couldn't move his arm. I asked them to find a solution urgently because it wasn't normal. Three days later, the surgical department told me they needed to amputate the arm." YACOUBA IN HIS FATHER'S ARMS (SOUNDBITE) (Bambara) SERIBA COULIBALY, FATHER OF AMPUTATEE BABY YACOUBA, SAYING: "At the beginning I was against amputation. I was categorically opposed to it. But in the evening, a lady came to see me. She convinced me and said that her baby had the same thing done to her the night before. According to her, it was the only chance of survival for the child. I went to see her amputated baby." PAEDIATRIC WARD AT GABRIEL TOURE HOSPITAL TWO BABIES IN A HOSPITAL BED MOUNIROU BABY, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF GABRIEL TOURE HOSPITAL AND BOUBACAR TOGO, HEAD OF PAEDIATRICS AT GABRIEL TOURE STANDING NEXT TO MOTHER STANDING OVER HER CHILD BABY IN HOSPITAL BED (SOUNDBITE) (French) BOUBACAR TOGO, HEAD OF PAEDIATRICS AT GABRIEL TOURE, SAYING: "The specific case (of Yacouba) about which there has been a lot of talk, was secondary to a bacterial infection, secondary to bacteria, to a microbe. The microbe was even identified and the child was treated with antibiotics. We were faced with a dilemma, either we have to amputate to save, or we don't amputate and leave the child to die. I believe that between the two evils, we had to choose the lesser and that is what we did." TOGO AND MOUNIROU BABY TALKING TOGO (SOUNDBITE) (French) BOUBACAR TOGO, HEAD OF PAEDIATRICS AT GABRIEL TOURE, SAYING: "It was not a medical error. It is an overcrowded service where the conditions were such that there are nosocomial infections (hospital borne infections), that is what happened, there was an infection of the limb which led to a local gangrene and faced with this situation, we were forced to amputate and that is what was done." MOUNIROU BABY AND TOGO STANDING OVER BABY IN HOSPITAL BED NURSE PREPARING A DRIP MORE OF THE NURSE (SOUNDBITE) (French) MOUNIROU BABY, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF GABRIEL TOURE HOSPITAL SAYING: "At the paediatric level of the Gabriel Toure Hospital, we plan to refurbish and increase capacity because it is very low relative to the number of patients that we receive daily. We have also earmarked equipment, an equipment project for this key service because the paediatrics department is a pole of excellence within our university hospital." SAMEROU DIALLO FROM THE ACTIVIST GROUP 'SAVE OUR HOSPITALS' AT MEETING DIALLO TALKING AT MEETING (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAMEROU DIALLO FROM THE ACTIVIST GROUP 'SAVE OUR HOSPITALS' SAYING: "But the statement from the Gabriel Toure hospital shows that the 5 billion CFA (8.4 million US dollars) is insufficient. It is a good step, we can stay it is a start but for me what is shameful is that it took a union strike at Gabriel Toure, for 72 hours, to get the government to react, this shows the problems in the field." PATIENT IN AMBULANCE OUTSIDE GABRIEL TOURE HOSPITAL EXTERIOR OF EMERGENCY ENTRANCE TO HOSPITAL
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2019 13:07
- Keywords: Amputations hospital-acquired infenctions hospital conditions healthcare
- Location: BAMAKO, MALI
- City: BAMAKO, MALI
- Country: Mali
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001AXBP847
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Baby Yacouba suffered from respiratory problems when he was born in August and was referred to Gabriel Toure Hospital's paediatric ward in Mali's capital Bamako.
A few days later, his parents say that doctors amputated his arm.
"He was treated for seven days. The skin on his arm was changing little by little. He had black and white spots. I told the medical staff about it. He couldn't move his arm any more. I asked them to find a solution urgently because it wasn't normal. Three days later the department of surgery told me he needed to amputated," said Yacouba's father, Seriba Coulibaly.
Born in July, Yacouba was 49 weeks when he was referred to Gabriel Toure.
He was one of three babies who came in with a complaint and ended up with a hospital-born infection that led to amputation. The parents are angry and called on the government to take action to stop any further amputations. They accused the staff of negligence.
"At the beginning I was against amputation. I was categorically opposed to it. But in the evening, a lady came to see me. She convinced me and said that her baby had the same thing done to her the night before. According to her, it was the only chance of survival for the child. I went to see her amputated baby," Coulibaly added.
The scandal of the amputated babies revealed serious failures at the Gabriel Toure Hospital, the main hospital in Mali, detailed in an annual report by the Mali 'Bureau du Verificateur General' (BVG), a public watchdog.
The BVG identified a shortage of equipment, qualified personnel and a chronic breakdown of machines at Gabriel Toure's paediatric ward, which is meant to be the best in the country.
The hospital - which treats the highest number of patients in Mali - has just 3 incubators instead of the 60 it needs and no respirators for newborns. It also lacks equipment to measure cardiac frequency, arterial tension, respiratory frequency, oxygen saturation and temperature.
Out of 19,154 babies hospitalised at Gabriel Toure in 2017, 4,633 died - a mortality rate of 24 percent the report said.
The hospital laboratory can't respond to all the demands for analysis because "the equipment is either broken or not working because of lack of qualified personnel" and can perform only 20 out of 80 types of examinations, the BVG report said.
The head of the paediatric department, Dr. Boubacar Togo said amputation was the only way to save Yacouba's life.
"The specific case (of Yacouba) about which there has been a lot of talk, was secondary to a bacterial infection, secondary to bacteria, to a microbe. The microbe was even identified and the child was treated with antibiotics. We were faced with a dilemma, either we have to amputate to save, or we don't amputate and leave the child to die. I believe that between the two evils, we had to choose the lesser and that is what we did," said Togo.
Togo said overcrowding in the ward led to nosocomial infections or hospital-acquired infections.
"It was not a medical error. The ward is overpopulated, conditions such that there are nosocomial infections that is what happened. There was an infection of one of the members which led to gangrene and faced with this situation we were forced to amputate, and that is what was done" he said.
After the publishing of the watchdog's report, a 72 hour strike by the hospital staff about the conditions at Gabriel Toure, and media coverage of the baby amputation scandal, the government disbursed a total of 16 billion CFA (26.8 million US dollars) to modernise three of Mali's hospitals.
The hospital director, Mounirou Baby said Gabriel Toure received 5 billion CFA (8.4 million US dollars) funding, the bulk of which will be used to buy modern equipment and the rest to refurbish part of the hospital to make more room for patients.
"At the paediatric level of the Gabriel Toure Hospital, we plan to refurbish and increase capacity because it is very low relative to the number of patients that we receive daily. We have also earmarked equipment, an equipment project for this key service because the paediatrics department is a pole of excellence within our university hospital," said the hospital director Mounirou Baby.
The activist group 'Save Our Hospitals' says the 8 million US dollars will not be enough to bring the paediatric hospital up to standard.
The group's leader Samirou Diallo said the unions issued a statement after the funding announcement saying they needed more than sophisticated equipment. Basic tools to measure blood pressure or identify the saturation and heartbeat of a child were urgently needed.
The country's Ministry of Health has said the money will pay for two new scanners, ultrasound machines and equipment for the surgery department. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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