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KCM said she was not given any information on the condition of her baby and the two were discharged from Lehurutshe Hospital a week later.
After Baby R’s birth, KCM was told by the hospital that her file could not be found, the court heard.
In the meantime, she took her baby to the clinic three times over the first six months for routine check-ups but noticed that the baby would shake while sleeping at night. She took her son to the hospital to report the shaking and was informed that Baby R had cerebral palsy.
Due to this, KCM issued a summons to the North West health MEC to claim compensation for Baby R’s injury, stating it was caused by the health department staff’s negligence.
According to her plea, the nursing staff at Moshana Clinic failed to monitor the progress of her labour and to timeously refer her to the hospital. She argued that the medical staff and doctors at Lehurutshe Hospital failed to adequately monitor, assess and manage the labour to safeguard the unborn baby and to give her medication and proper medical treatment. She told the court the nursing staff failed to take steps to avoid the complication before, during and after the birth.
In response to the summons, the provincial health department denied liability for cerebral palsy, stating there was no negligence on the part of the hospital staff.
The department argued that the hospital rendered the best service it could, based on the available resources. In addition, should the court find that the unborn baby was inadequately monitored, this did not causally link to the cerebral palsy suffered by Baby R.