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Doctor Cleared in Snakebite Case
Ty Milsom Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:37 am
Doctor Cleared in Snakebite Case - by Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK – A Professional Conduct Enquiry yesterday found a Katutura State Hospital medical officer not guilty of negligence in a case where a three-day-old baby was allegedly left to die of snake venom at the hospital’s casualty department early last year.
Dr Gerson Uanivi was charged of negligently failing to conduct a proper examination of the patient and make proper assessment of the case. He was further charged with delaying in the institution of primary emergency management of the patient – Maria Munetumba.
Yesterday, the Pro-Forma Complainant on behalf of the Medical Council, Willie Rossouw, of Metcalf Legal Practitioners said Uanivi failed to establish an intravenous line (IV), crucial in administering hydrocortisone that would protect the tissues from venom.
According to healthopedia, an intravenous line is a soft, flexible catheter that is inserted into a vein to deliver medication, fluids, or nutrition. It is mostly placed in a vein in the forearm or hand.
The enrolled nurse, who was on duty that night, Amanda Tjozongoro, the medical intern, Dr Mandiudza Chandambira, and the consultant surgeon Sam Munhemba, who handled this case, all testified attempts to establish an IV was only attained at a very later stage.
Tjozongoro testified that the mother brought the infant to the hospital’s emergency department at about 19h00, saying a snake had bitten the baby.
It is alleged that the type of snake was unknown to the mother until later when a male relative brought the dead serpent, which was identified as a zebra snake.
This type of snake is highly poisonous and there is no anti-venom for it, the hearing heard.
For almost three hours after the case was brought to hospital, medical practitioners on duty struggled to establish the IV.
Munhemba, who was called by Uanivi to assist in this case, told the panel that he found the baby in a stable state when he arrived at the hospital, almost three hours after the infant was bitten.
“There were no apparent complications there. I assessed the child and there was nothing unusual other than bite marks,” Munhemba said.
Munhemba said during the enquiry that in cases where an IV cannot be established, a medical person could also carry out a “down cut” where a cut in the flesh is conducted to find the vein.
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=2464
WINDHOEK – A Professional Conduct Enquiry yesterday found a Katutura State Hospital medical officer not guilty of negligence in a case where a three-day-old baby was allegedly left to die of snake venom at the hospital’s casualty department early last year.
Dr Gerson Uanivi was charged of negligently failing to conduct a proper examination of the patient and make proper assessment of the case. He was further charged with delaying in the institution of primary emergency management of the patient – Maria Munetumba.
Yesterday, the Pro-Forma Complainant on behalf of the Medical Council, Willie Rossouw, of Metcalf Legal Practitioners said Uanivi failed to establish an intravenous line (IV), crucial in administering hydrocortisone that would protect the tissues from venom.
According to healthopedia, an intravenous line is a soft, flexible catheter that is inserted into a vein to deliver medication, fluids, or nutrition. It is mostly placed in a vein in the forearm or hand.
The enrolled nurse, who was on duty that night, Amanda Tjozongoro, the medical intern, Dr Mandiudza Chandambira, and the consultant surgeon Sam Munhemba, who handled this case, all testified attempts to establish an IV was only attained at a very later stage.
Tjozongoro testified that the mother brought the infant to the hospital’s emergency department at about 19h00, saying a snake had bitten the baby.
It is alleged that the type of snake was unknown to the mother until later when a male relative brought the dead serpent, which was identified as a zebra snake.
This type of snake is highly poisonous and there is no anti-venom for it, the hearing heard.
For almost three hours after the case was brought to hospital, medical practitioners on duty struggled to establish the IV.
Munhemba, who was called by Uanivi to assist in this case, told the panel that he found the baby in a stable state when he arrived at the hospital, almost three hours after the infant was bitten.
“There were no apparent complications there. I assessed the child and there was nothing unusual other than bite marks,” Munhemba said.
Munhemba said during the enquiry that in cases where an IV cannot be established, a medical person could also carry out a “down cut” where a cut in the flesh is conducted to find the vein.
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=2464
Ty Milsom
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