Church, politicians should keep off medical issues

There is a disturbing tendency for politicians, religious leaders and the media to lynch medical personnel without establishing the facts when things go wrong in hospitals.

A case in point is the 30 children from Busia who developed weaknesses and some paralysis due to suspected wrongful administration of injections.

It was encouraging that Health Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia, and the Director of Medical Services, Dr Nicholas Muraguri, took personal charge of the situation. Many however wondered why the children were taken to the private Nairobi Hospital, and not Kenyatta National Hospital. Was it for lack of qualified personnel or equipment and facilities?

But even as parents of the affected children threatened to sue the Busia county government, we were hit by conflicting statements from medics and government officials. Initially, Polio or defective drugs were suspected to have caused the paralysis, but that was later ruled out.

Dr Muraguri, however, confirmed that Quinine was one of the drugs the children had been injected with while the media quoted the World Health Organisation saying Quinine can cause neuromuscular injuries and paralysis if improperly administered.

Meanwhile, there were accusations and counter accusations on who should be held responsible, with Health Cabinet Secretary warning that if criminal negligence was established, whomever was involved would be taken to court.

Conflicting statements from Dr Muraguri and Nairobi Hospital’s Chief Physiotherapist, Ms Jessica Shiraku followed. While Muraguri stated that ‘the children will recover within two months’, the physiotherapist said ‘the children are expected to have recovered fully in nine months’.

This disparity in opinion could have arisen because the two experts were speaking in an atmosphere charged with tension.

When lay Kenyans, including church leaders, involve themselves in medical issues, they merely cause more anxiety to those that bear the burden of disease. Many even wanted the said ‘nurse’ arrested and taken to court even before investigations were complete yet medicine is more technical and sensitive than they could imagine!

Accidents occur everywhere; on our roads, homes, places of work, playgrounds, schools and even swimming pools. Nerves are no exception.

Accidental nerve injury after an injection through the buttock muscle is the most common injury affecting the sciatic nerve. A broken hip, gunshot wound, a fall, injection, and cancer, among many other ailments may cause problems to the sciatic nerve.

Some factors such as the thickness of the fatty tissue beneath the skin, depth of the buttock muscle in children and poor buttock covering in the elderly are predisposing factors for this type of injury.

But basic research shows accidents through injections are not uncommon, not just in Kenya but even in the developed world where personnel are deemed to be ‘better trained’.

When this happens, we should have the sense to let the likes of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board and the Nursing Council of Kenya do their work. Muddying the waters through insults on social media, and allowing politicians and religious leaders to wade into debates they know nothing about doesn’t help anyone.

That said, politicians at national and county governments should support and facilitate fledgling county governments to provide quality health services. The current situation where they work at cross purposes like two jealous co-wives is no good for the sector.

The writer is a physiotherapist based in Eldoret.