Madam Suwaiba
The saga of the missing baby at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, (KATH) has come to a head as the family of Madam Suwaiba, the mother of the missing baby has refused a GH¢ 50, 000 compensation from the Ministry of Health.
Abdul Rahman, spokesperson and brother of the grieving Suwaiba whom hospital officials have failed to produce her missing baby confirmed that their family do not want anything to do with the compensation being offered by the Ministry of Health.
‘They proposed GH¢ 50, 000 but we are not accepting the offer and besides, Suwaiba is not interested in the compensation. All she seeks is to know the whereabouts of the baby,’ Mr Rahman told Kumasi-based radio station, Ultimate Radio.
According to him, the family’s stance on seeing the body of their still-born baby remains resolute.
An ultimatum issued by the Ministry of Health to KATH to produce the alleged missing baby of Suwaiba has elapsed without the hospital being able to produce the missing baby.
‘It is a fight and we are fighting to the end of the whole saga. They are saying the baby is dead; so they should provide the body for us. That is what is going to convince us,’ he fumed.
The spokesperson for the family expressed disappointment with what it described as a ‘back door’ approach being used by the Health Ministry in handling negotiations with the family.
Among the many issues the family is raising, is the Ministry’s choice of going through opinion leaders in the community instead of approaching them officially. The family is also unhappy with the Ministry’s refusal to allow their lawyers take part in any of their meetings.
The account of the family is in sharp contrast with the submissions of the Health Ministry in the latest of its press conferences on the KATH missing stillborns saga. Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayittey, last month at a news conference, clearly stated that ‘the Ministry of Health is in the process of facilitating a meeting with Madam Suwaiba, her lawyer and her family to find an amicable settlement to the unfortunate incident.’
Expressing these sentiments with spokesperson and brother of Madam Suwaiba, Abdul Rahman indicated that the Health Ministry was deviating from its press statements with its latest approach in tackling the issues.
‘When the meeting was supposed to be held, the Ministry did not directly contact the family. They passed through some opinion leaders in the community. They told us it wasn’t even necessary we bring our lawyers. But we don’t want any back door negotiations. We want it to be formal for the whole world to know what we are doing,’ he noted.
Meanwhile, a report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council on their investigations into the saga has been submitted to the Health Ministry. The Ministry has consequently constituted a committee to review the report and submit its conclusions appropriately.
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