Olwethu Vimba, 26, believes she would have delivered a healthy baby and saved the Eastern Cape department of health R13-million had nurses at the Holy Cross Hospital attended to her on time.
Due to delays in delivery, Vimba’s daughter Inam suffered hypoxic damage to the brain.
Vimba later successfully sued the department for negligence and received the R13-million payout in October 2015.
The drama unfolded after Vimba went to the hospital – about 10km from her home village of Hlwa-hlwazi – after experiencing labour pains on September 27 2009.
“I arrived at Holy Cross on Monday morning. I was attended to by three nurses. They admitted me and observed me. They told me that the baby was still at 2cm . They gave me a time sheet for check-ups before discharging me.
“Each time I went back to the hospital they observed me and kept telling me I was still 2cm,” Vimba said.
On Wednesday night her labour pains grew severe and she was rushed back to the hospital.
“On Wednesday at about 9pm they gave me pills to swallow, took blood tests and tested my blood pressure. They then kept me in the labour ward,” she recalled.
“I stayed there until 11pm. The pain grew stronger and I begged them to take me to theatre to help deliver the baby because I was in so much pain,” she said.
Vimba said the nurses grew irritable, shouted at her and told her that she would deliver the baby without a cesarean section.
“I was then instructed to walk up and down the corridor. I felt the baby coming and I told them that the baby was coming. They (the nurses) were sleeping in the ward,” she said.
Vimba said she walked back to her bed.
“I tried climbing into the bed but I could not raise my feet, so I climbed onto the bed using my back. While on top of the bed I tried pushing the baby out by myself.
“They (nurses) spoke to me in their sleep saying I must take continuous short breaths to give my unborn baby energy. At that time my daughter’s head had already popped out.”
She said all of this took place while the nurses were sleeping near her bed.
“I cried and I grew weak. One nurse came to assist me deliver the baby. My daughter finally came out but she was not crying.”
Vimba said on realising the baby was not making a sound, the nurse slapped the infant under its feet.
“They took her away and I cleaned myself up. After that I sat at the ward and waited for them to call me to breastfeed her.”
Vimba spent the following two weeks at the hospital as attempts were made to try and establish what was wrong with the child.
“When they could not find out they discharged me,” Vimba said. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
MEDICINE WITHOUT CARE: Mom says baby suffered due to nurses’ negligence
Due to delays in delivery, Vimba’s daughter Inam suffered hypoxic damage to the brain.
Vimba later successfully sued the department for negligence and received the R13-million payout in October 2015.
The drama unfolded after Vimba went to the hospital – about 10km from her home village of Hlwa-hlwazi – after experiencing labour pains on September 27 2009.
“I arrived at Holy Cross on Monday morning. I was attended to by three nurses. They admitted me and observed me. They told me that the baby was still at 2cm . They gave me a time sheet for check-ups before discharging me.
“Each time I went back to the hospital they observed me and kept telling me I was still 2cm,” Vimba said.
On Wednesday night her labour pains grew severe and she was rushed back to the hospital.
“On Wednesday at about 9pm they gave me pills to swallow, took blood tests and tested my blood pressure. They then kept me in the labour ward,” she recalled.
“I stayed there until 11pm. The pain grew stronger and I begged them to take me to theatre to help deliver the baby because I was in so much pain,” she said.
Vimba said the nurses grew irritable, shouted at her and told her that she would deliver the baby without a cesarean section.
“I was then instructed to walk up and down the corridor. I felt the baby coming and I told them that the baby was coming. They (the nurses) were sleeping in the ward,” she said.
Vimba said she walked back to her bed.
“I tried climbing into the bed but I could not raise my feet, so I climbed onto the bed using my back. While on top of the bed I tried pushing the baby out by myself.
“They (nurses) spoke to me in their sleep saying I must take continuous short breaths to give my unborn baby energy. At that time my daughter’s head had already popped out.”
She said all of this took place while the nurses were sleeping near her bed.
“I cried and I grew weak. One nurse came to assist me deliver the baby. My daughter finally came out but she was not crying.”
Vimba said on realising the baby was not making a sound, the nurse slapped the infant under its feet.
“They took her away and I cleaned myself up. After that I sat at the ward and waited for them to call me to breastfeed her.”
Vimba spent the following two weeks at the hospital as attempts were made to try and establish what was wrong with the child.
“When they could not find out they discharged me,” Vimba said. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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