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Opoku And Adarko Jachie Family Petition Health Minister Over Death At Nkwawie Hospital

By Opoku And Adarko Jachie Family
Petitions The Late Yaa Poku
FEB 12, 2014 LISTEN
The Late Yaa Poku

THE OPOKU FAMILY
ADARKO JACHIE & ATWIMA AGOGO
P.O.BOX, KW 474
KWABENYA, ACCRA

THE HON HEALTH MINISTER
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
ACCRA-GHANA
FEBRUARY 7TH 2014

PETITION BY THE OPOKU FAMILY OF BOTH ADARKO-JACHIE AND ATWIMA AGOGO IN THE ASHANTI REGION AGAINST DR. AKOTO, MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT AND MADAM ELIZABETH ASABRE A MIDWIFE ALL OF THE NKAWIE GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL IN THE ATWIMA NWABIAGYA DISCTRICT OF THE ASHANTI REGION FOR THE MURDER OF OUR DAUGHTER AND SISTER, THE LATE YAA CHANAS OPOKU AND HER UNBORN BABY ON THE 24TH JANUARY 2014 AT THE SAME HOSPITAL.

Dear Sir/Madam

We the family members of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku of both Adarko-Jachie and Atwima Agogo in the Ashanti region would like to petition your office to institute an immediate investigation surrounding the deliberate murder of our daughter and sister and her unborn baby at the Nkawie Government Hospital on the 24th January 2014 when she went there to deliver.

Hon. Minister, we the family members of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby have decided to petition your office to cause an immediate investigation into the death of this poor pregnant woman because we are convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby were murdered by Dr. Akoto the medical superintendent and Madam Elizabeth Asabre a midwife all of the Nkawie government hospital based on their gross professional negligence.

THE FACTS SURROUNDING THE DEATH OF THE LATE YAA Chanas OPOKU AND HER UNBORN BABY AT NKAWIE GOVT HOSPITAL

The late Yaa Chanas Opoku together with Yaa Gyamfuaa went to the Nkawie government hospital on 24th January 2014 by the invitation of Dr. Akoto to perform caesarean section (CS) after she was referred from a private clinic by one Dr. Awuah clinic at Atwima Makro to the Nkawie government Hospital having observed that she would need caesarean section (CS) to deliver.

According Yaa Gyamfuaa who accompanied the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to the hospital, that 7:30am after she was given a bed, a midwife (madam Elizabeth Asabre) instructed her to leave the ward because she was about to do an induction, meaning a medicine was inserted into her vagina to stimulate delivery, which she deed at about 7:35 am on that day, 24th January 2014.

That about 9am a woman came from the ward and informed her that her sister wanted to drink water, but after she sent the water madam Elizabeth Asabre the midwife instructed her not give her water because the doctor was going to perform (CS) on her. Again the late Yaa Chanas Opoku complained of hunger but she was again denied food with same excuse that the doctor was going perform (CS) on her.

Hon. Minister, it is shocking and unbelievable that after the induction had failed over two and half hours there was no medical doctor at the Nkawie government hospital to perform the (CS) on this poor pregnant woman who had been stimulated to deliver and had gone through serious pains for over six hours.

Hon. Minister, according Yaa Gyamfuaa who accompanied the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to the hospital that at about 2:30pm when the induction had failed over two and half hours after madam Elizabeth Asabre the midwife had denied the family to transfer her to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) three hours eelier, she finally arranged for an Ambulance to transport this poor pregnant woman to KATH, claiming that the doctor (Dr. Akoto) had asked that she should be referred to the KATH.

According Yaa Gyamfuaa that less than ten minutes after the ambulance had departed from Nkaawie government hospital at a community called Afari, our dear daughter and Sister Yaa Chanas Opoku passed away including her unborn baby, but they finally got to the KATH at 3:55pm when the medical officer who examined her declared that she was Brought In Dead (BID) at the KATH and therefore requested for Coroner's investigation.

MEETING WITH DISTRICT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ATWIMA NWABIAGYA

Hon. Minister, on 30th January 2014 the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Atwima Nwabiagya district, Hon. Nana Asare Bediako called for a meeting between the authorities of the Nkawie government hospital and the family members of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku after he got a hint of this gruesome murder.

From hospital authorities in attendance were, Dr. Akoto the medical superintendent of the Nkawie government hospital, madam Elizabeth Asabre the midwife who performed the induction, Miss Augustine Sena the nurse who accompanied the ambulance to the KATH, two other senior midwives and a male nurse whom we were told was also in the ambulance. Also in attendance was Dr. Osei Samuel Somuah the district director of health services.

The late Yaa Chanas Opoku family was represented by Comrade Gabby Asumin, spokesperson of the family, Kwabena Poku, Akosua Serwaa, Appua Patrick, Yaa Gyamfuaa, Kwame Poku and uncle Yaw Deekye.

The meeting was chaired by Hon. Nana Asare Bediako, DCE Atwima Nwabiagya district, also present was the district co-ordinating director.

First to speak was Dr. Akoto, the medical superintendent of the Nkawie government hospital, he told the meeting that the midwife informed him of presence the late Yaa Chanas Opoku at 6:30am and instructed her to start the induction process.

According to Dr. Akoto he had booked the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to perform (CS) on her because her post maturity had past for about three weeks. Dr. Akoto further told the meeting that at second thought he instructed the midwife to perform the induction because the baby weigh 3kg, he assumed that that process could get deliver safely.

According to Dr. Akoto he was informed by the midwife at 11:30am that contraction was going on, but at about 2pm, after six hours after the induction had been performed by madam Elizabeth Asabre he was called by the Ashanti regional director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Aron Offei, to Kumasi, so he decided to referred the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to the KATH, and that he Dr. Akoto left the Nkawie hospital about 4pm to Kumasi and got the news of the death of this poor pregnant woman and her unborn baby at about 5:30pm in Kumasi.

Madam Elizabeth Asabre told the meeting that she performed the induction after 7am per the instruction of Dr. Akoto. Madam Asabre further told the meeting that induction is performed in two hours interval and admitted that after four hours of induction if a pregnant woman fails to deliver, there would be an urgent need for (CS) to save both mother and child.

As to how after six hours when the induction she had performed had failed, the (CS) was not perform on the poor pregnant woman, Madam Elizabeth Asabre told the meeting that she was unable to answer that question because her duty was to inform the medical doctor.

Miss Augustina Sena, one of the nurse who was incharge of the ambulance told the meeting that at Afari a few kilometers from Nkawie the late yaa Chanas Opoku condition became serious so she try to put her on oxygen but there was no oxygen tube in the ambulance, she called her boss, madam Elizabeth Asabre who instructed her that they should proceed to the KATH, only for her to be declared Brought In Dead by the medical officer who examined her at the KATH.

Dr. Osei Somuah the district health director of the Atwima Nwabiagya district described the death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby as very painful and regrettable. According to Dr. Osei Somuah this type of maternal death occurs only one out 10,000 deliveries.

Dr. Osei Somuah told the meeting that there were two approaches the family of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby could take, though he added that none of the approaches could bring to life the death woman nor her unborn baby.

The first approach according to Dr. Osei Somauh was the family of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to resort to legal litigation, because in his opinion something fundamentally want wrong at the Nkawie government hospital that led to the death of the poor pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

According Dr. Osei Somuah the second approach , which he believes was the more appropriate one was that, the family should sit down with the hospital authorities to resolve the mystery surrounding the death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby amicable with a compensation package.

The DCE for the Atwima Nwabiagya district, Nana Asare Bediako in his concluding remarks charged the district health director, Dr. Osei Somuah to provide him a comprehensive report about the mystery leading to death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby. The meeting was therefore called to a close.

MEETING WITH DR. AKOTO IN HIS OFFICE ON 30TH JAN.2014

Hon. Minister, the meeting with DCE agreed that family members of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku meet Dr. Akoto in his office to arrange for a Pathologist to perform the autopsy and how the Coroner's investigation could be carried out. Therefore four family members, including Comrade Gabby Asumin, Kwabena Poku, Appua Patrick and Uncle Yaw Deekyi met Dr. Akoto in his office just after our meeting with DCE. In his office Dr. Akoto shockingly told us that madam Elizabeth Asabre the midwife did not inform him of the seriousness of the condition of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku as at 2pm when he decided to referred her to KATH.

Dr. Akoto further disclosed that due to professional negligence exhibited by Madam Elizabeth Asabre, which led to the death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby, he has given new guidelines to be followed for the handling of maternal cases at the hospital.

Hon. Minister the meeting agreed that the parties should meet again on Wednesday 5th February 2014 to start the process of the Coroner's investigation with police Service. So on Wednesday, February 5th, the parties met one detective Inspector Abor of the Nkawie police service. During deliberation with the police officer, Hon. Minister it emerged that the late Yaa Chanas Opoku body was temped with before it was deposited at Toase Medical Centre Mortuary on 24th January 2014, even though Miss Augustina Sena who brought the body from KATH was aware that authorities of the KATH had requested for Coroner's investigation.

Dr. Akoto maintained that he was not aware that the body had been temped, so he demanded that we move to the Toase Medical Centre mortuary to examine it physically. So two family members, namely Kwabena Poku and Appua Patrick went with Dr. Akoto to examine the body and it emerged after the examination that the body had been temped. The late Yaa Chanas Opoku stomach was split open and the dead baby removed put in polyline bag and placed beside her at the mortuary.

Per this development Dr. Akoto told the family members present including comrade Gabby Asumin, Kwabena Poku and Appua Patrick that both autopsy and coroner's investigations were impossible because the body had been temped with therefore every evidence that could have being derived from the autopsy had been destroyed.

Per this development Dr. Akoto told the family members present again that he can prepare documents, which would enable us, clear the body of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her dead baby for burial. It was therefore agreed that we come the following day, Thursday 6th February 2014 for the said documents.

So on Thursday, February 6th 2014 three family members, including comrade Gabby Asumin, Madam Akosua Serwaa and Kwabena poku met Dr. Akoto in consulting room 1 at Nkawie government hospital and to our surprise,

Hon. Minister, Dr. Akoto in front of these three family members, wrote a fake Medical Certificate of Cause of Death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and decided to back-date it to January 25th 2014.

We the family members believed that the Medical Certificate Of Cause Of Death written by Dr. Akoto on February 6th 2014 but decided to back-date to January 25th 2014 as being the cause of death for late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby was fake, because, since the death of this poor pregnant woman and her unborn baby no pathologist has perform any postmortem to establish the cause of death, so where did Dr. Akoto got his information.

We the family members per this, petition, Hon. Minister are demanding an independent investigation to establish on whose gross professional negligence, either on the part of Dr. Akoto or Madam Elizabeth Asabre or any other person which led to the death of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her unborn baby.

We demand that any investigation should answer the following questions:

1. Why did Dr. Akoto booked the late Yaa Chanas Opoku for caesarean section (CS) on Friday, January 24th 2014, yet when induction had failed at about 12 noon he refused to perform the (CS) and decided to referred the poor pregnant woman to the KATH two hours later when she was almost dead.

2. Did the regional director of the Ghana Health Service in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Aron Offei invited Dr. Akoto to his office on 24th January 2014?,

3. Madam Elizabeth Asabre must explain an allegation by Dr. Akoto that she refused to inform him (Dr. Akoto) the seriousness of the condition of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku as at 2pm when he decided to refer her to the KATH.

4. Why did Madam Elizabeth Asabre instructed Miss Augustina Sena to proceed to the KATH, when she was informed that the late Yaa Chanas Opoku condition had become serious at Afari when she(madam Elizabeth Asabre) knew that the distance from Afari to Kumasi was about five times longer than the distance from Afari and back to Nkawie.

5. Who setup the ambulance to transport the late Yaa Chanas Opoku to the KATH, and did not know that there was no Oxygen tube in the ambulance.

6. Miss Augustina Sena must explain who temped with the body of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku at Toase Medical Centre Mortuary when she knew that the authorities of the KATH had requested for Coroner's investigation.

7. Why did Dr. Akoto decided to produce a fake Medical Certificate of Cause of Death on February 6th 2014 and back-dated it to January 25 2014.

Hon. Minister, the body of the late Yaa Chanas Opoku and her dead unborn baby are currently deposited at Toase Medical Centre Mortuary. She was only 32 years.

We have also included both the photo copies of Coroner's form issued by the authorities of the KATH and the fake Medical Certificate Of Cause Of Death of late Yaa Chanas Opoku written by Dr. Akoto on February 6th 2014 but back-dated to January 25 2014, for your perusal.

The entire family is counting on your usual co-orperation for a speedy investigation to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of this poor pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

PETITION IS SIGNED BY

1. Nana Yaw Offin (Adontenhene of Adarko Jachie) head of family

2. Comrade Gabby Asumin(Family Spokesperson)Tel No: 0244-032165

3. Madam Yaa Pomaa Mother

4. Samuel Opoku widower

5. Kwabena Poku Brother

The Late Yaa PokuThe Late Yaa Poku

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