A pregnant woman in labour has died after the Mother and Child Hospital in Kasoa allegedly denied her request for a caesarean section due to a lack of available beds in its ward.
The deceased, Opoku Abigail, according to her sister, had initially visited a private health facility for delivery but was referred to the Mother and Child Hospital after labour was prolonged.
At the facility, however, requests by both the patient and her relatives for a caesarean section were reportedly declined by hospital staff, who cited the absence of an empty bed in the recovery ward.
The family says Abigail died nearly 36 hours after arriving at the hospital, with the baby still in her womb.
Her death, which occurred on Sunday, April 26, adds to what relatives claim are several similar incidents at the facility.
A sister of the deceased, who spoke to Citi News, is calling for a review of the hospital’s operations, insisting their relative could have been saved if the request for a surgical intervention had been granted.
“Before she was referred, we were told to allow for a cesarean surgery to save both the baby and the mother. But when we told the nurses at Mother and Child Hospital, they said the recovery ward was fully occupied, so they couldn’t perform the surgery.
“They told us she will deliver. We arrived between 2 and 3 am, but they gave her no medication. She was lying in pain, and even when she personally requested the CS, they didn’t mind her,” she said.
Attempts to reach the Medical Director and Administrator of the hospital for a response were unsuccessful, as hospital officials told Citi News’ Central Regional correspondent that both were unavailable to comment.
