Officials at Chitungwiza Central Hospital have instituted investigations to establish circumstances which resulted in the body of a toddler disappearing at the health institution.
The body of
Emmanuel Charindapanze, who was just eight-months-old, disappeared at the
hospital after the mother Shamiso Nyause took the child for treatment.
Shamiso and her
husband Givemore Charindapanze could not locate the body of their child when
they arrived to collect it for burial.
The hospital
public relations officer, Audrey Tasanarwo, also clarified a number of issues
related to the disappearance of the body of the toddler.
One of the
clarifications was that Munashe Ganyiwa, 32, who was arrested in connection
with the disappearance of the child’s body, was not a nurse, as widely
reported, but a mortuary attendant.
“The
circumstances leading to the missing body are not known, however, the hospital
has instituted a board of inquiry to find out the circumstances which led to
the missing body of the deceased baby,” said Tasanarwo in a statement.
“We want to
assure the public that we take all incidents seriously and are cooperating with
the police investigation. We will provide updates as more information becomes
available. We appeal for accurate reporting and respect for the bereaved
family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
“We would like
to clarify the procedures followed when a patient passes away at our
institution.”
Tasanarwo
added: “When a patient dies in the ward, the nurse informs the doctor, who
certifies the death and completes the necessary documentation.
“In this case
the deceased baby was, indeed, certified dead by the doctor.
“After that the
nurse then performs the last office procedure which includes preparing
documentation and the body for transfer to the mortuary.
“When that
process is done, the mortuary attendant is called to then transport the body to
the mortuary for safekeeping, pending burial.
“Please take
note of this change of responsibility over the dead body at this stage, when
the mortuary staff takes over from the clinical staff.
“The body is
transferred to the mortuary by the mortuary attendant and not by the nurse.
The mortuary
attendant was called to then transport the body to the mortuary for
safekeeping, pending burial. The body was transferred to the mortuary by the
mortuary attendant and not by the nurse as widely reported.
Munashe is not
a nurse but a mortuary attendant. When the baby died on Saturday Munashe was
not on duty. She came on duty on Monday.
“On the day in
question Munashe was assigned to prepare and send the babies for incineration.”
Herald
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