Lister Hospital breaks silence on Baby Nyilale Vaah death

Accra, April 29, GNA - The Management of Lister Hospital on Thursday said the death of Nyilale Vaah, which has been the cause of contention between the hospital and parents of the baby was due to a congenital problem.

A statement issued by the management in Accra said "Under the circumstances of the particular medical condition, the baby could not have survived."

It said post-mortem diagnosis conducted by pathologists of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on the corpse indicated that Baby Vaah suffered from "multiple organ haemorrhages most probably due to a bleeding diathesis or coagulation defect with bleeding precipitated by trauma of labour (childbirth)".

The statement explained that Baby Vaah had a problem of excessive bleeding and difficulty with clotting, a condition that could not be diagnosed before birth and though rare, not uncommon.

"This was discussed with the Vaahs following the post-mortem," it said. It said: "From the above, it is almost certain that Mrs. Vaah would have had a perfectly normal live birth, but for the fundamental problem with their son - a bleeding diathesis - a condition of abnormal tendency to bleed with clotting difficulty, which made the expected outcome impossible with even the short labour that, she had."

"A copy of the full post-mortem report was made available to the Vaahs through their lawyers in the second week of April," the statement added. "By all standards, the management of Lister Hospital did what is humanly possible to give Mrs. Vaah as much care as was required within the circumstances and as could be possible received in any similar hospital in this country. And that is why we keenly feel this loss as well." "Indeed, immediately after this sad occurrence, we gave our condolences to Mr and Mrs Vaah, and told them how equally shocked we were at the outcome of the delivery."

It said management released an official statement on April 8 giving full account of the hospital on Mrs Vaah at the ward, which is available on www.listerhospital.com.gh.

"We therefore find it unfortunate and utterly unthinkable that Mr and Mrs Vaah should embark on a smear campaign in the media on the pretext of mismanagement of the latter by the Hospital. The management of Lister Hospital finds this allegation as a means to work and win public sympathy of the Vaah's own gains, while at the same time tarnishing the hard earned reputation of Lister Hospital," the statement said. "We wish to use this platform to encourage all media organisations and individuals who are interested in this matter to seek the views of independent medical experts and the regulatory authority, the Medical and Dental Council, or any court of competent jurisdiction to assess the facts, in order for the public to have a more dispassionate and balanced discussion or analysis of the matter.

"We at Lister believe that the hospital and its personnel have in no way been negligent and or acted negligently. Our midwives have taken several clients through the delivery process on many occasions unassisted and it is unfortunate that they should be deemed incompetent as a result of the outcome of Mrs. Vaah's delivery, tragic though. "In spite of all these issues, we shall remain focused. We will continue to strive in our own small way to improve on the standards that we have, in a bid to improve health care delivery for Ghanaians, all other patrons and the sub-region as a whole. We will also continue to partner any institution with similar vision and mission. We will continue in our pursuit to deliver the highest level of healthcare to our clients. "To our numerous clients and friends out there, we thank you for your custom and support during this period. We appreciate that you have a choice and that you have made us your choice. "The Medical Director, Board and staff of Lister Medical Services Limited wish to extend their deepest condolences again to the parents, family and friends of Baby Nyilale Vaah, who sadly died during the course of his mother's labour at the Lister Hospital. "In view of the continuing media barrage of appearances of Mr and Mrs. Vaah, premiering on April 2, 2010 relating their story in varying ways, Lister Hospital wants the result of the post-mortem diagnosis published for a more informed public discourse notwithstanding the intense pain and grief from the loss of Baby Vaah," the statement said. 29 April 10