MoH should put its house in order

Mmegi Editor | Wednesday August 31, 2016 11:39

The minister took the blame and full responsibility for the syphilis-infected blood saga.  She said an error in the blood samples was detected and the ministry worked around the clock to rectify the situation.  During the verification of the system, they detected eight units of blood that were positive for Treponema pallidum, an organism that can cause syphilis, which were dispatched to Princess Marina and Scottish Livingstone.

Makgato also revealed that the Ministry of Health (MoH) was re-engineering their information technology system, installed in 27 hospitals and some clinics.

In our previous article before the press conference, our source blamed the error on the system, as it is said to have failed to detect the bacteria in the blood before it could be transfused to patients.  She said they had tracked the patients and were talking to them, counselling and preparing them for treatment.  She said they would provide all possible medical assistance within their ability.  “We are putting up structures and mechanisms so that this does not happen again,” she said at the time. That was five months ago.

This publication yet again broke the news that three officers from the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) are on suspension following yet another incident of contaminated blood.

This is following the contaminated blood that was supplied to aforementioned hospitals in the not so distant past.  According to the story five pints/cartons were detected before they were used at Scottish Livingstone hospital and one was detected at Princess Marina, but had already been used on a patient.

This time around the ministry is blaming this error on negligence and human error on the part of the suspended officers.  It is alleged that they failed to remove the contaminated samples.  The ministry is also claiming that they have managed to contain the situation.

We appeal to MoH to make sure that cases like these should never happen again.  Those mechanisms and structures that the minister promised five months ago should be put in place.  The employees should be taken on board when new systems are introduced to avoid the blame games when errors are committed.  Employees should also be vigilant when they deal with blood samples because contamination could be deadly.

We do not rule out cases in which contaminated blood was used on clients, but was never detected. We are not taking any sides in the latest case, but we urge the ministry to investigate the issue to its logical conclusion.

Today’s thought

“Negligence is the rust of the soul that corrodes through all her best resolves.” 

 – Owen Felltham