BY VANESSA GONYE A RECENT High Court ruling directing Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga to pay $900 000 in damages to a woman who suffered a miscarriage at Sally Mugabe Hospital exposed the suffering that pregnant women endure at public health institutions.
With support from the Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), Valerie Chibaya filed a lawsuit against Chiwenga demanding $1,5 million for pain, suffering and contumelia damages after she lost her unborn baby because of neglect by nurses in 2020.
High Court judge Justice Never Katiyo ruled in her favour after a full trial, but reduced the amount to $900 000.
WLSA recently held a Press conference in Harare to celebrate the judgment.
In attendance were two other women who shared their ordeals during childbirth.
Enesia Chipikiri (not real name) said she was yet to come to terms with the nightmare she endured on October 8.
Chipikiri had been taken to the City of Harare-run Old Highfield Clinic in the wee hours of the day after experiencing labour pains at night.
“We were ignored for over an hour at Old Highfield Clinic until the guard told us to go to another clinic saying we would not be attended to at that time,” she told NewsDay in an interview on the sidelines of the Press conference.
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“We went to the Rutsanana Clinic and they referred us back to where I had registered for delivery (Old Highfield Clinic). We were told to go back to Rutsanana, but there was no joy again until a nurse said she would just examine me and refer me to Sally Mugabe Hospital.”
There was no ambulance, so they had to call a taxi.
“When we got to the hospital, as I was disembarking from the hired car, the baby came out. I delivered right at the door and was attended to soon after that,” Chipikiri said.
“I was told I had a ruptured womb and that I should have it stitched. I gave birth around 7am and was stitched around 5pm on the same day.”
Chipikiri said she was not aware of her rights to maternal healthcare services.
“I didn’t know I had the right to report my ordeal until I came across someone who said they could show me where I could be assisted with processes to deal with that,” she said.
Chipikiri is now being assisted by WLSA to get justice.
As Zimbabwe’s once enviable healthcare sector collapses under the weight of dilapidated infrastructure, a lack of drugs and poorly paid staff going on frequent strikes, pregnant women are being forced to pay bribes to get help while giving birth, with reports of babies being born in queues outside maternity clinics.
Under these circumstances women with pre-existing conditions risk losing their babies while awaiting attention.
Palesa Simon (not real name) also revealed that she almost lost her baby while giving birth at the same institution.
The incident happened in April this year.
“I went to Old Highfield Clinic where I was booked for maternity and the nurses said I was faking labour. They gave me some pills to take before ordering me to go back home,” Simon said.
“I didn’t take them, and I refused to go. Around 7pm, on April 14, they left without offering any assistance.
“I started having serious pains but the nurses on duty kept saying I was faking labour and troubling them.
“I gave birth on the floor and my baby had red patches in one eye and on the forehead after he fell to the floor while I was giving birth.
“The nurses only cut the umbilical cord and left him without proper dressing or cleaning. My mother-in-law cleaned and clothed him when she came for the morning visit.”
Old Highfield Clinic is a council-owned facility.
City of Harare director for health services Prosper Chonzi said he was not aware of the two incidents since no report was filed by the two women.
“Nothing was communicated or reported to my department. I am also not aware that our staff is mistreating patients,” Chonzi said on Friday.
“I would like to urge those who went through such cases to report to me or to the director for nursing services. It is unfortunate that such things went unnoticed.”
However, like Chipikiri, Simon is also seeking compensation with support from WLSA.
WLSA director Fadzai Traquino said they wanted pregnant women to have access to sexual reproductive health and enjoy maternal health rights.
In her High Court application, Chibaya said she went to the hospital on June 17, 2020 after experiencing unusual stomach pains when she was 23 weeks pregnant.
Chibaya said she was neglected until she suffered a miscarriage.
Health experts say complications during pregnancy and childbirth are leading causes of death and disability among women aged 15-49 in the country.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) maternal mortality in Zimbabwe currently stands at 614 deaths per 100 000 live births, one of the highest maternal mortality rates on the continent.
In July, UNFPA and the Health and Child Care ministry with support from the Health Development Fund announced that it was developing an e-learning platform for nurse and midwifery training institutions to end maternal and child deaths.
Zimbabwe Confederation for Midwives president Obert Nyatsuro admitted that there were bad apples in the profession resulting in needless deaths during delivery.
“It is our motto as midwives that no woman should die while giving birth and no child should die while trying to live,” Nyatsuro said.
“It automatically means that midwives, once they avail themselves, should be up to the task to see that things are done professionally. We are expected to execute our duties diligently.”
Local health experts called on the government to prioritise maternal health issues to reduce maternal mortality.
The majority of deaths can be prevented if women receive the right care throughout pregnancy and during birth, they said.
Community Working Group on Health executive director, Itai Rusike said maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates (MMR) had remained unacceptably high.
“A number of barriers for pregnant women to access obstetric care services have been sighted as the major contributors to the high MMR in Zimbabwe,” Rusike said.
“Other barriers include, an inability by pregnant women to recognise danger signs of pregnancy, user fees, lack of reliable transport and communication system, lack of medicines and other commodities, shortage of skilled personnel at the health facilities.”
Rusike said maternal death audits conducted by the National Maternal Perinatal Deaths Surveillance and Response Steering Committee, showed that negligence was to blame.
“Negligent health workers should be charged using appropriate statutory instruments for misconduct and negligence but there is also a need to strengthen life-saving skills and a rights-based approach in the training curriculum of doctors and nurses in our public health institutions.
“Innovations to enhance delivery of quality maternal health services need to be introduced to enhance real monitoring of labour progression and decision making,” Rusike added.
- Follow Vanessa on Twitter @vanessa_gonye
