Two health officials from Bugobero Health Centre IV in Manafwa district are now in police custody following the tragic death of an expecting mother who suffered a ruptured uterus due to prolonged neglect during labor.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sara Bulali, a medical officer, and Sandra Cebutai, a midwife.
The incident came to light when Bila Nabisawa, a 42-year-old resident of Bukhofu subcounty, lost her life after enduring 14 agonizing hours at the health facility.
The attendants, who included the deceased’s husband and sister-in-law, disclosed that they arrived at the facility around 4 pm on July 28th, but their attempts to get the midwife’s attention were met with indifference.
Catherine Musiya, the deceased’s sister-in-law, recalled the harrowing experience, saying,
“By midnight, we had not been attended to. We reached out to the midwife in her resting room, but she turned us away.”
In a shocking revelation, it was disclosed that the medical officer, Sara Bulali, appeared later in the morning and demanded 200,000 Ugandan shillings to perform a cesarean delivery, claiming that the mother could not deliver naturally. Distressed and desperate, the attendants complied with the demand.
Musiya Catherine, one of the attendants, further explained, “The doctor asked if we could raise 200,000 for her to work on our patient. Eventually, they negotiated down to 150,000 Ugandan shillings, but to their dismay, no action was taken until 6 am when the mother tragically passed away. At that point, an additional 5,000 shillings were demanded for unspecified purposes, along with 35,000 shillings for gloves and equipment.”
Peter Wasibire, the deceased’s husband, recounted how the medical officer, Sara Bulali, remained unresponsive as they waited for an anesthetics officer until the mother’s unfortunate demise.
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Manafwa, Patience Nambale, strongly condemned the actions of the medical personnel and revealed that she has received numerous complaints about similar incidents where mothers and babies lost their lives due to negligence.
“That particular doctor, it has been her habit. This is about the 8th death, including 7 babies,” said Nambale, emphasizing the alarming recurrence of such cases. She also expressed concern about the delay in labor caused by the time it takes for patients to gather the money requested by the doctor, leading to tragic outcomes.
