Four Kenyan medics, including a neurosurgeon, have been suspended after it was discovered that at a hospital in Nairobi the head of the wrong patient had been cut open.
One patient at the Kenyatta National Hospital needed surgery for a blood clot on the brain, the Daily Nation reported, while the other only noninvasive treatment for swelling.But the wrong man was taken in for the blood clot surgery, according to reports, following a tragic mix-up of identification tags.
The doctors then opened the skull of the man in the operating room, and became aware of the blunder “hours into the surgery, when they discovered there was no blood clot,” the Daily Nation reported.
Koros issued a statement announcing the suspension of four medics, including a neurosurgeon, the ward nurse, operation receiving nurse, and the anesthetist.
The Daily Nation commented on the use of the word “apparent” in the statement as a sign of reluctance on the part of hospital authorities to publicly admit the mistake.
Some social media users have expressed shock that such an incident could have happened at the hospital.
Other comments conveyed outrage and hinted at the presence of systemic problems.
The doctors’ union defended staff, saying the hospital was “overwhelmed” by staff shortages and inadequate facilities in which to perform surgeries.
“You find one doctor could be doing 10 to 19 operations [in a day],” said Ouma Oluga, the chief executive officer of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union, according to the BBC.
There have also been reports of broken equipment, overcrowding, and long waiting times for treatment.
