Hospital baby deaths sadden MPs
Parliament’s health portfolio committee expressed sadness at the death of several babies, most likely of Klebsiella, at the Bongani Hospital in Welkom.
|||Parliament – Parliament’s health portfolio committee on Sunday expressed sadness at the death of several babies, most likely of Klebsiella, at the Bongani Hospital in Welkom in the Free State.
“I am deeply saddened and sorry by the loss of the newborn babies,” committee chairwoman Lindelwa Dunjwa said in a statement. She expressed condolences to the families of the dead babies.
On Saturday, the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) said it was likely that Klebsiella had been the cause of the death on Friday of five babies in Bongani Hospital.
“The probable cause of death is Klebsiella. A team from OHSC is currently on route to the hospital to conduct a full investigation,” the OHSC said in a statement.
The OHSC is a statutory body that monitors and enforces health standards compliance. It is mandatory that all health care establishments in the country comply with national core standards.
“A full investigation by a team of experts will be conducted to establish exactly what the cause of death was. It is important that all health care establishments adhere to the national core standards (NCS) so that we do not have a repetition of incidents such as this one,” the OHSC said.
Dunjwa welcomed the investigation, and said the committee would wait for the investigation to be concluded, and allow for proper processes to be conducted.
“I will send a request inviting the minister of health and the [OHSC] to brief the committee on the exact cause and outcomes of the investigation that led to the death of the babies,” she said.
African News Agency
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