Mother loses twins as result of Tembisa Hospital infection
'I received nothing from the hospital, except my dead babies,' says grieving mother after her babies has died at Tembisa Hospital
Three months after her twin babies died at Tembisa Hospital, allegedly due to the outbreak of the antibiotic-resistant klebsiella bacteria, Thabelo Mungovhoro is still in shock and has twice attempted suicide.
She also had to undergo counselling after losing her newborns.
Tearfully sharing her experience, Mungovhoro said she was looking forward to becoming a mother for the first time but that dream was shattered in the blink of an eye.
“I was admitted to the hospital on October 10 after suffering severe pain. I was seven months pregnant and on October 13 gave birth to twins.
“I was told they weighed above the one-kilogram mark. One twin was placed in ICU while the other one, who was perfectly fine, went to a post-natal ward,” she said.
“On October 15, I checked on the baby that was fine. I found her bleeding from the nose and ears. I immediately called the doctors in charge but they didn’t come. As a matter of fact, no one came to help me until I started crying and screaming.
“They all seemed surprised that the baby had died. They said they did not know what had happened and did not know when the baby died. My biggest question is, what did they write in the file if they don’t even know what happened?” she asked.
While she was still mourning the death of the first twin, the other one died five days later.
“I was told that the baby had contracted an infection,” she said.
Asked whether the hospital provided any form of counselling, she said the hospital didn’t even bother to fully give her a detailed medical report.
“I received nothing from the hospital, except my dead babies. My brother had to take me to a private psychotherapist for counselling,” she said.
Her brother, Abel Matumba, confirmed that he had to organise counselling for her because she was not coping.
“I also had to move her from Tembisa to Vosloorus because she was in a very bad state. She also attempted to kill herself.”
There are many unanswered questions surrounding the twins’ deaths. Why did the Department of Health and the hospital say the outbreak of the deadly bacteria occurred between November and December, when there were babies who died as early as October? And why was this kept a secret for such a long time?
Mungovhoro believes the truth will come out and justice will be served.
