Alberton family seeks answers following the death of their newborn

A FAMILY from Alberton, Johannesburg, are seeking answers after their one-month-old daughter died due to alleged negligence at a private hospital.

Baby Safaa Doumissi was born on March 21, and had trouble breathing at birth.

Latanya Pillay, 28, her mother, said she had no complications during her pregnancy. 

“After Safaa was born, she was taken into the neonatal intensive care unit because her oxygen levels had dropped to 50%. On the second day, after tests, we found out she had a heart condition - aortic stenosis. 

“Due to lack of equipment, she was transferred to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital where she was treated by specialists and with treatment, she appeared to be getting better.”

Pillay said while Safaa’s condition was improving, the specialist had said that she needed a heart transplant.

“On day eight, a cardiogram (ECG) was done but they said they could not operate. But she was doing well and drinking her milk,” added Pillay.

Pillay said Safaa was discharged from hospital on April 2.

However, on May 1 at 2.30am, Safaa was rushed back to a nearby hospital because her breathing became rapid, raising concerns.

The doctor on duty said there was nothing wrong with Safaa and was sent home. 

“She was fine until 6pm, when we noticed that she was battling to breathe again.”

The family took her to another hospital.

“We went straight to the emergency reception and told them that our baby had a heart condition and she needed to see a doctor. 

“The receptionist told us to wait and a nurse would assist us. While waiting a pregnant woman came into the emergency ward. Her water had broken and she was seen first. This despite us telling the nurse that my baby had a heart condition.

“We still waited a while before we were attended to by one of the nurses. The first thing we told her was that our baby had a heart condition and that she was not well.”

She said as the nurse loaded Safaa’s information on the computer, the baby’s mouth became pale.

“I alerted the nurse and only then did she decide to test her oxygen, which was low at 75%. She called the doctor who just looked at Safaa and walked away. We were left unattended for what seemed like a very long time.

“I told my fiance, Larbi (30), to call for help because Safaa was not doing well. When the nurses came in, they said they were getting her a bed. But by this time my baby was still not on oxygen.”

Pillay said when Safaa finally got a bed, it still took a while for the nurses to hook her to machines to check vitals.

“At this time there was still no doctor there to see my baby. While the nurse was busy connecting my baby to the machines, I noticed that her tummy had blown up.”

She said when she questioned this, the nurses said they were unsure what was going on.

“When the doctor arrived he checked Safaa and asked me why I had brought her in. I explained everything and from there he ordered a chest x-ray and blood tests. 

“Before the doctor could leave us, I had given him the information of my baby's cardiologist for him to call and notify him of what was happening.”

After informing the doctor about Safaa’s medical history, they were left waiting for blood tests to be done.  

“They only arrived at 9.45pm to take her bloods. The nurses asked us to step out. They took a long time to take her blood, so I went back to check  on her but said the staff were busy.”

The family waited until 10.30pm when the doctor told them that he had struggled to draw blood, but managed to get some from her right thigh.

“I had asked the doctor if he contacted the cardiologist and he had said 'not as yet'. I noticed my baby’s breathing was even heavier and her eyes had rolled back. The nurse said ‘I’m not sure why this is happening'.”

Pillay then called their paediatrician to liaise with the attending doctor. 

“She said before Safaa could be transferred to the NICU, they put in a tube to help her breathe better. At this point they asked us to step out again. I then noticed there were a lot of nurses around my baby and they had closed the door without telling us what was happening.”

Pillay’s worst nightmare unfolded when the hospital's therapist informed them at 12.50am that Safaa had crashed and they were trying to revive her .

“We were taken through the comfort room and waited for the doctor. He arrived after a few minutes and told us that my baby had passed on,” said Pillay.

“They did not treat my baby’s case as an emergency. They did not take us seriously when I mentioned that she was a heart patient. Nobody took her seriously until it was too late,” claimed Pillay. 

She said when they asked the doctor how Safaa had passed, the doctor had said from "unnatural causes". However, her death certificate stated natural causes, said Pillay. 

“We want answers. We want to know what happened to our baby. We told them what was wrong but they refused to listen to our pleas. We are struggling to come to terms with losing Safaa. I am mentally, physically and emotionally broken. The hospital did not even call and pass their condolences,” she said.

Pillay said they had since spoken to the hospital’s patient liaison officer, who was unaware that a baby had passed away

“No matter what we do, we won’t get Safaa back. But we want to fight for justice for our baby. If she was treated as an emergency, she may still be alive,” said Pillay. 

The family is still waiting for the post-mortem report. 

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