Thursday, March 28, 2024

A blood clot caused the death of Daily Mail Staffer

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Late Zambia Daily Mail sub-editor Sithembile Siwawa-Zulu
Late Zambia Daily Mail sub-editor Sithembile Siwawa-Zulu

A POSTMORTEM conducted on Zambia Daily Mail sub-editor Sithembile Siwawa-Zulu, who died at the weekend after giving birth, has revealed that she died after a blood clot blocked an artery that supplied blood to her lungs.

Mrs Zulu died on Sunday after giving birth to a baby girl two days earlier through caesarean section at Levy Mwansawasa University Teaching Hospital.

The death caused a social media uproar prompting Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya to call for a thorough inquest into the death of the 29-year-old journalist.

Meanwhile, Non-Governmental Organizations’ Coordinating council (NGOCC) Executive Director Engwase Mwale has expressed sadness that maternal deaths in Zambia are on the increase.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Ms. Mwale revealed that many maternal deaths recorded in Zambia are as a result of negligence amongst health workers.

Ms. Mwale also disclosed that the NGOCC recently embarked on a campaign to curb maternal death in Zambia.

Ms. Mwale has since called on Government to ensure that no mother die unnecessarily in Zambia by putting stringent measures in the health sector.

“It is sad to note that maternal deaths in Zambia are on the increase” Ms. Mwale said

Recently the maternal death was recorded at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital on September 10, 2017.

Sithembile siwawa Zulu, a sub-editor at the Zambia Daily Mail died a day after delivering a baby girl at the institution.

According to the Ministry of Health Spokesperson Maximilian Bweupe explained that 29-year-old Sithembile, in her 2nd pregnancy underwent a caesarian section due to fetal distress on September 8, 2017.

33 COMMENTS

  1. Anyone who has been to UTH or any govt hospital will tell you how babies are lost mainly due to negligence of nurses. Some nurses even demand bribes from pregnant women in order to receive preferential service. If you haven’t bribed them, no matter how much noise you make, they won’t show any urgency. By the time they come to attend to you, sadly, the baby is gone. That’s the reality in govt hospitals. No one cares to report about these matters because they affect mainly the poor from compounds, the middle class deliver from high cost or private clinics

    • Uli mbushi, 2 midwives at UTH B block, attend to more than 10 women at a given time. So how can they divide themselves . Most seasoned midwives at UTH they usually leave for greener pastures because of luck of motivation by the GRZ

    • Great to hear I have a new name “mbushi”…. Those who fail to engage in proper and sensible conversation usually resort to insults and name-calling. You can always put your points across without use of dehumanising words. The moment you throw in words like mbushi, then you invalidate your points however credible they are.

    • dr dre and Nubian Princess – Let’s not find excuses for negligence. This is the problem with black – lazy and always have reasons for mediocrity. Issues of unprofessional behavior are rife in the medical profession in this country, especially among junior staff.

    • Well we are spending 1.2 billion dollars on the roads with a claim they are causing many deaths ….now I ask a very fundamental question how many are dying due to preventable issues in hospitals compared to the roads??????

    • Instead of just talking irrelevantly without evidence why don’t you gather evidence and report these midwives you bribed so that it stops? When you don’t have anything to say keep quiet.

    • I work in the medical field and we lose patients to Pulmonary emboli from time to time. We prescribe Lovenox or Heparin subcutaneously for prophylaxis (prevention) medically or sequential compression device if lovenox or heparin is contraindicated. This woman in the picture had at least three risk factors: she was fat, had a cesarean section and was not mobile. So quit blaming nurses for negligence because this kind of death happens across all medical institutions world wide.

    • Its actually sad i would Wonder what ridgway is doing about it thé New clinicians have limited skills in obs and gy to some entent failing to even prépare notes after théâtre and its worse in rural areas please ensure that our mothers are protected otherWise this matenal death was avoidable if clinicians were able to observe thé patient regulary

    • @therealoliviapope, no need to body shame the deceased. How is she fat please? There is no excuse for incompetence especially when it has to keep costing people’s lives. No one has a perfect body. When I go to the hospital does it mean that I should in fact be perfectly fit for your incompetent services to function? Let us be serious.

  2. The health minister must take these allegations seriously and conduct a full investigation there job is to serve the people.

  3. How two main Health institutions are death traps. There overcrowded and under staffed, you don’t expect trainees to run these institutions. The ratio of qualified personel compared to trainees is shocking and an embarrassment. Let us save lives by having proper medical centres, this unnecessary loss of life should be squarely be blamed on the so called government. How much is been spent on presidential marketeers funds, this is money that can go a long if invested in health infrastructure unlike cheap politics of propaganda and deceit.

  4. Maternal deaths are not on the increase in Zambia but to the contrary they are decreasing. Just 10 years ago we had over 600 maternal births per 100,000 deliveries but now they are less than 400 per 100,000 births. Research before you issue statements.

    • Not a significant difference and definitely not a statistic to be proud of! Maternal mortalities will remain high as long as we continue shying away from known root causes, especially those that have to do with certain traditional practices like taking of green teas and other concoctions that always mess up the natural Labour process! Obesity among banamayo of child-bearing age should be addressed pre-conception! Most pregnancies in Zambia are not planned. Most happen as accidents or side effects … Kikikiki. We need to invest in effective contraception and PLANNED parenthood!

  5. AM HAPPY GRZ REALISED THERE WAS NO POINT IN MAKING PIPO GO FOR MANDATORY HIV TESTING. MY RECENT VISIT TO CHOMA GENERAL HOSPITAL REVEALED SHOCKING EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF DOCTOR, NURSE/PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY. AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS, THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WERE TALKING ABOUT MY AILMENT SO PUBLICLY FOR ANYONE WHO CARES TO LISTEN.

    ITS NO WONDER VIPs GO OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY FOR TREATMENT.

    • TONNY I was equally shocked last week by the behaviour of staff at the health centre/post opposite Chibelo Basic School in Kabulonga. They forced a lady to undergo HIV testing and told her they will not attend to her. Thereafter they remained discussing her status publicly and loudly. The MOH needs to protect innocent citizens so that privacy is respected. There is need for sensitization through putting posters by civil society on the aspect of voluntary HIV testing in health centres . It was appalling

    • This testing will only cause cross infection and in our hospitals and clinics were there is no clean instrumentation numbers will sky rock.
      Government should revamp health care and hold on to funds for ri ad repairs

  6. I do sympathize with dead , however the arrogance from one blogger on this page makes me wonder how we can have this kind of staff looking after precious lives in hospitals.
    Really the government must look into problems at medical institutions without delay since everything revolves around human life if human life is not valued then what is left.
    What our valued nurses should realise is that their work is a calling if you have no heart for the sick why get a nursing job better you become some other professional.
    When there is a problem like the one at hand we must show empathy than rude differences imagine just imagine if it was your young sister who was affected , would like to hear such insolent difference.

    • Government needs to put health care as top priority pump money into the health care system and wait with the the road repairs.
      Give nurses and doctors better salaries train more nurses and health workers at all levels

  7. The best Hospital or clinic for giving birth is in Sikanze Police Camp.
    I don’t know how many people know about this Hospital/Clinic.Take your wife there, service is first class.

  8. It’s negligence. The only nurses who take good care of their patients and are overwhelmed are found in the admission and ICU wards. Once a patient is moved to a regular ward they are on their own. The bedsiders are expected to to tend to their patients while the nurses chit chat at their stations. You only see them when it’s time to give medications or at the end of their shift. As long as these hospitals allow or continue expecting that a patient have a bedsider who has no medical experience negligent deaths will continue. If you’ve ever been a patient at UTH you will know what am talking about….its humiliating!!

  9. There are so many that cause death and to assume its due to negligency is very wrong. Health Workers are not Gods but if its ones day to pass on no matter what U do it will happen.
    The blame game is not going to help anyone.

  10. Nursing, Teaching, Police Service, running a Church, Politics etc are actually careers that we resort to after failing to get what we dreamt for. These careers are mostly occupied by those who were dull, stupid and foolish at secondary school. After failing to catch some places at University or other High grade colleges, they resorted to the lesser demanding careers in nursing etc. How on earth do you expect them to give quality services?

  11. Material death is not on an increase, banakulu abo should not just vomit wards from without. Midwives are overwhelmed with work and they try so hard not to lose any life, she did not die due to negligence no but due blood clot which midwives have nothing to do with

  12. Yes she was obese and left in bed for two days and the end result is death. Give DVT prevention and mobilize the patient as soon as possible to prevent such deaths. However, the staff are held back because you can’t mobilise someone in pain, they have no good analgesia to control pain apart from panadol and old fashioned pethidine.

  13. If we don’t manage this new epidemic of obesity in Zambia, we should brace ourselves for more such painful deaths! Don’t rash to blaming the health worker! Obesity is killing people world over and these blood clots embolism and clog up your lungs. Once this happens, there is no known way to save you! Take responsibility for your own health! Manage your appetites and diets. Exercise regularly and make sure you sleep on average 7 hours every day! It is painful to continue losing young lives like this. These are the things Ministry of health should be addressing!

  14. Once again who gave you the right to body shame this poor deceased lady. Who tells you she was obese? Unless maybe you are one of the people that attended to her and measured her BMI? Where have you seen a size 10 who has just delivered a baby? Mulebako serious and keep quiet if you have nothing to say, especially nga tamwafyalapo Wait until your own wife, sister or daughter dies like this.

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