The family of a four-month-old baby girl who passed away at the Elim Hospital last Thursday is accusing the nurses of negligence which led to the death of their little girl.

The baby, Gift Mpaane of Waterval, is said to have been admitted to the Elim Hospital last Monday, as she was unable to breathe properly. According to a report, she was placed inside an oxygen tent after she was admitted, but was later removed as she was supposed to be moved to another ward.

It was allegedly revealed that the nurse who had moved her to the other ward refused to move the tent as well. It is alleged that when the little girl’s family members enquired why she was removed from the oxygen, the supervisor, who was playing cards at the time, said that it was not her job to move the oxygen tent and that she was not a man.

According to Gift’s grandmother, Mrs Ester Maphophe, due to the fact that the baby was removed from the oxygen, her condition worsened. “Then a nurse gave her medicine (Panado). When the other nurse came, she insisted that the Panado should be drained from the child because it had not been prescribed by the doctor. The nurse started to drain the medicine from the child through a pipe which was inserted into the baby’s throat,” she said.

She further added that she only learned that the medication which the child was given was not prescribed by the doctor when the two nurses started arguing and quarreling about it. “Then the one indicated to us that the girl was not supposed to be given Panado,” she indicated.

According to Maphophe, while the nurses where still arguing, the little girl passed away.

According to the communications officer at the hospital, Mr Avhatakali Marole, the allegation is untrue. “The baby died, but according to the doctor’s report, it was not caused by the medication,” he said.

Though contacted several times for comment, the spokesperson for the Department of Health in Limpopo, Mr Phuthi Seloba, could not be reached.