Hospital faces negligence claim after schoolgirl dies from rabies

A family in Gita, Kisumu East, has accused a local hospital of negligence after a 14-year-old girl died of rabies.

Violet Adhiambo sat her KCPE last year and was preparing to join St Alloyce Reru Secondary School in Seme.

Her mother Jackline Akinyi said her daughter was bitten by the family dog on December 20.

She was taken to Gita sub-county hospital, where the staff turned her away when the family failed to raise Sh800 for an anti-rabies injection.

"I pleaded with them to treat my daughter as I looked for money but they refused. I brought her back after borrowing Sh500," said Ms Akinyi.

The girl was given the injection and was to go back for more on December 24 and 28, January 3 and 18.

However, her condition worsened, prompting her mother to seek a referral on January 4. Akinyi claimed the hospital denied her the referral note to move her daughter to the county hospital.

She was only given the referral after the sponsor of her daughter's secondary education intervened.

"We stayed at the hospital from 8am to 5pm waiting for the referral note. The medical staff said they would not release my daughter because they wanted to observe her."

She added that a call from Adhiambo's sponsor appeared to have angered the staff who, in their referral note, indicated that the patient had been beaten by her parents.

“The patient reported to hospital today complaining of hallucination and mild headache. The same client was also attended to two days ago. She said she started developing the above complaints after having been beaten by the mother,” read the report.

By the time Adhiambo arrived at Kisumu County Hospital, her condition was bad. She died the following day, on January 5.

Akinyi, a single mother, has blamed her daughter's death on Gita hospital and demanded justice.

She accused the hospital of misleading the facility where Adhiambo was referred, delaying treatment.

Akinyi also claimed that the delay in treating her daughter after she failed to pay the Sh800 the hospital had demanded worsened her condition. "I was hoping my daughter would join secondary school and be an example to her siblings," said Akinyi.

The Gita hospital administrator, William Achola, was not available to comment as he was said to be in a meeting.

Dickens Onyango, the county director of health services, said the matter was being investigated.

"We have established the girl was being treated for rabies. However, we are still investigating claims of delayed treatment," said Dr Onyango.