3-Week-Old Baby's Hand Amputated After Being Hospitalized With Diarrhea

A 3-week-old child's hand was amputated at a hospital in South Africa after she was allegedly admitted to the facility with diarrhea.

According to local media reports, the child's family took the baby to Delmas hospital after she fell ill. Initially, it was said the baby had diarrhea. However, the hospital claimed the child had developed some complications, following which she was transferred to the Witbank Hospital where her hand had to be amputated, media outlet Sowetan Live reported.

After the surgery, angry community members protested, saying the baby's arm had to be amputated due to the alleged negligence by staff members.

Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane visited the family of the child and said an investigation was underway to determine how her illness led to her losing her hand.

“We should get a preliminary report by next week. We need only the truth as to what happened, but we also need to make sure we support the family and offer counselling to the young mother and the rest of the family,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said, according to Sowetan Live. “The premier and I as mothers ourselves saw it fit that we come here in person to show the family that they are not alone.”

The current condition of the baby has not been revealed. It remains unclear if a formal complaint has been filed against the hospital or the medical staff.

In a case of medical negligence in Portugal in 2019, a doctor's ignorance was blamed for a baby being born without eyes, nose and a part of the skull. A Portuguese medical council voted unanimously to suspend Dr. Artur Carvalho following the incident. The baby boy was born at São Bernardo Hospital in Setúbal. The baby’s mother was under Carvalho’s care, and he had carried out three ultrasound tests at his private clinic before the delivery. The family said the doctor raised no concerns about the abnormalities of the child at that time. "He explained that sometimes some parts of the face are not visible (on ultrasounds)... when the baby's face is glued to the belly of the mother," AFP quoted Rodrigo’s Aunt telling a local news broadcaster in Portugal at the time.