Medical accident : When The Healer Commits Fatal Errors…

Medical accident is one of the leading cause of deaths in some hospitals nationwide. Information from the World Health Organisation (W.H.O) indicates that medical errors and accidents kill approximately as many people each month in the world as Covid-19 did before vaccines became available. Recent happenings in certain hospitals in the country are showing that such non-desirable events are complications, potentially detrimental to patients. The recent dramatic death of a baby at a private clinic in Yaounde after a controversial lumber puncture as well as another due to an electronic malfunction of an incubator are getting the population worried over the safety of patients in hospitals in the country.
Medically, it is said that mistakes or accidents caused by a healthcare provider are called iatrogenic harm. Reports show that there is widespread, so frequent, so massive, and so continuous that they rarely make headlines. And unlike a plane crash or a building collapse, the vast majority of iatrogenic deaths can be kept under wraps. But recent happenings call for concern. A baby passed away in an incubator at the Nkongsamba Regional Hospital on March 10, 2023. This happened after the incubator caught fire. A press release following expert finding commissioned by the State Counsel for Moungo High Court revealed that the incubator self-ignited after one of its electronic components malfunctioned. The press release also revealed that there was no anomaly likely to cause the incident trigger by the quality of power supply. There were no disruptions on the ENEO network that day, and neither hospital facilities nor the neighbourhood experienced a voltage surge. It was also shown that the incubator’s voltage regulator was not damaged and did not cause any breakdown in the protected equipment. 
The story of baby Andrea Abe who died recently at the Le Jourdain clinic in Yaounde after unexplained medical circumstances calls for more concern as people are asking if hospitals have become dead traps. Information indicates that on February 12, 2023, she was taken to the emergency room of the Clinic where she was hospitalized and put on antibiotics. The next morning, the doctor informed the parents that the test results revealed an infection and that an emergency lumbar puncture was needed to rule out meningitis. The parents, initia...