Responding to
Chronicle yesterday, Health and Child Care Ministry permanent secretary, Dr
Aspect Maunganidze, said the Government was aware of the incident and awaits
the outcome of investigations, which have since been initiated.
“The ministry
is aware of the unfortunate incident of ‘baby swapping’ that occurred at United
Bulawayo Hospitals and awaits the results of the investigation that we
instructed the hospital to undertake,” said Dr Maunganidze.
“While we
expect the investigation to be concluded expeditiously, we acknowledge the
sensitivities around the matter. Parallel to the investigative process, we have
instructed the institution to assist with counselling all affected parties
(including the staff), reorient or refresh our staff on the standard operating
procedures during and after delivery, and reinforce the importance of good
moral and ethical practice,” said Dr Maunganidze.
The woman, who
cannot be named for ethical reasons, had to resort to Deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA) testing, done at a private DNA laboratory in the city centre and the
National University of Science and Technology (Nust) to prove her concerns that
the baby girl was not hers after the nurse on duty had told her that her child
was a girl and that since she had given birth through Cesarean Section, she may
have been under sedation. Chronicle
