A medical doctor at the centre of a negligence scandal that rocked Masaka District Hospital in Kicukiro is petitioning the Ministry of Health to reinstate him in his position after a report by the Rwanda Medical and Dental Council (RMDC) cleared him of any wrongdoing.

However, the family of the patient involved in the scandal has disputed the findings of the medical council, saying it defended its own, without carrying out thorough investigations or questioning witnesses.

On September 19, the patient was admitted at the hospital and the family claimed that the doctor on duty identified as Antoine Tumugire Twahirwa, failed to give proper care, putting the patient’s life in danger.

One of the victim’s relative took to Twitter to make allegations of negligence at the hospital and claimed that the patient was left unattended by the medical doctor on duty and was also denied a timely transfer to another hospital.

She added that efforts to get the doctor were futile as the Board nurses could not find him. She also alleged that they wanted to transfer the patient to another hospital where she would get care but the doctor was found sleeping in his officer.

Insults

When the nurses woke him up, he quarrelled and insulted them.

The relative said she also went to look for the doctor to issue the transfer and found him in the emergency room. The tweets caused outrage, with many taking to social media to ask the Ministry of Health to do something on what they said was a rampant behaviour in many health facilities.

She said that she was aggressed and kicked out by the medic who later signed the transfer to Rwanda Military Hospital at 11pm. The child was reportedly in critical condition on arrival at the Kanombe-based hospital.

The Minister of Health Dr Diane Gashumba responded to the social media outrage and said that she was personally looking into the matter.

After the reported incident, the Minister and her team visited the hospital to evaluate the situation. She asked the doctor to give a written explanation of what happened within five days.

In a letter dated September 28, received by the hospital on October 2, addressed to Dr Twahirwa and seen by Rwanda Today, Dr Gashumba asked the doctor to explain why he never acted on the patient’s case as there was no assessment in the file and to explain why he took so many hours to approve the transfer.

“Based on your workmates and patient caretaker’s revelations, you came to work drunk that day and this was a regular habit,” the Minister said.

Suspension

Dr Twahirwa was suspended from duty on September 28 after it was found that there was negligence on his part.

Dr Gashumba also directed the Medical Council to follow up on the matter.

An investigation carried out by the Rwanda Medical and Dental Council found that while Dr Twahirwa did not directly address the patients family as requested, there is proof that the child was accorded the necessary care and that there was no proof of malpractice or negligence.

In a letter dated October 10 addressed to the Ministry of Health and RIB, the medical council cleared Dr Twahirwa of any wrongdoing.