St. Teresa Hospital responds to negligence allegations after mother's death

Thirty-two-year-old Phylis Wanjiru lost her life on September 9 after being referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital moments after being treated at the Kikuyu facility.

Amid heaping questions, St. Teresa said in a statement on Wednesday that Phylis visited the facility with complications of lower abdominal pain and she underwent medical examinations.

Doctors found that she had a history of two previous cesarean deliveries and had also done an ultrasound a few days before, which showed that the baby was lying sideways (Transverse lie).

The statement added that she was found to be in labour which prompted an emergency cesarean section under spinal anesthesia.

It was during surgery when the medical team discovered that the patient had placenta previa - a condition where the placenta lies unusually low in the womb and can cause bleeding during the second half of pregnancy.

Bleeding was minimal at time of surgery, but a newborn, a girl, weighing 3.1kg was safely delivered.

About 6 hours later at 9:30pm, Phylis developed secondary postpartum hemorrhage (heavy bleeding occurring hours after delivery), a condition that is highly witnessed in women with a history of multiple cesarean sections.

The attending surgeon and gynaecologist decided to refer her to KNH. She was transferred at 1pm in an "alert and stable" condition and was safely received.

According to the facility, a follow-up was done the next morning by a representative from St Teresa who established that surgery had been conducted successfully and Phylis was recuperating in the Critical Care Unit. They were later informed at 11 am that she died.

The hospital adds that Postmortem results showed that her death was a Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), a rare condition where the body's normal clotting becomes overactive

St. Teresa has maintained that Phylis' death was not due to medical negligence, as all procedures were keenly followed.

"Our staff acted quickly and in accordance with professional standards to provide the best possible care," read the statement in part.

Her husband, Dennis Wanyonyi, alleges that upon arrival at KNH doctors had questioned the procedures carried out at St. Teresa, leading to tense exchanges between the two medical teams.

The grieving father of four described the experience as devastating, adding that his attempts to seek justice have been frustrating. “When I reported the matter, I was sent back and forth between Kikuyu Police Station and the police post at KNH,” he said.

He is now appealing to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) to investigate the matter and take action against those found culpable.