Baby Mulalo’s parents still aggrieved

The parents of the 19-month-old baby, Mulalo Prince Mulaudzi, who died after nurses at Khakhu clinic allegedly refused to attend to him immediately, are still waiting for the Department of Health to finalise investigations into the case.

Mr Mashudu and Mrs Mumsy Mulaudzi contacted the department's spokesperson, Ms Adele van der Linde, to inquire about the progress of their case.

“Ms Van der Linde referred us directly to the office in Polokwane, where we were told that what had happened to our baby at the Khakhu clinic was totally wrong,” said Mashudu. “They promised to get back to us soon.”

The child's guardian and grandmother, Vho-Reginah Mulaudzi, had rushed Mulalo to the Khakhu clinic after she noticed that he had a high fever and was vomiting on 5 October. She was allegedly turned away, because the three nurses on duty were helping a woman in labour. Baby Mulalo was only attended to the following morning but died two hours later.

Mulalo's mother, Mumsy, said that the clinic's attitude towards patients had caused her son's death. “I want to believe that, if he were helped, my child would still have been alive,” she said.

Van der Linde confirmed on Monday that the department has launched an investigation into the case “to establish whether there was any negligence on the part of the clinic. We cannot tolerate bad service that can lead to fatalities. However, we need to be thorough in investigating all possible contributing factors.”

Also Read:

15 August 2014 - Health Deparment suspends nurse for alleged negligence

Date:08 November 2013

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Read: 1835