Shalom Hospital Lands in Hot Soup After Woman Gives Birth at Reception as Nurses Enjoy Tea

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua and regulatory bodies have ordered a probe into a suspected case of negligence at Shalom Hospital in Athi River.

This comes after a woman was allegedly left to give birth at the hospital's reception area as nurses watched and enjoyed their tea.

Top health officials from the Machakos County Government have on Monday toured the facility to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident that was captured on camera by a patient's husband.

Officials from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) and Nurses Union have also made their way to the hospital to probe the incident.

“Officials from my Government and the Kenya Medical Board & Nursing board will this morning visit the privately owned & managed Shalom Hospital in Athi River. We will not allow patients in any facility – Govt or otherwise – in my region, to be treated inhumanely. Watajua Hawajui,” says Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua in a social media post.

The incident was exposed over the weekend after a video filmed by a man who had taken his wife to the hospital went viral online.

The man said the woman in labor was brought into the facility on a wheelchair and three nurses who were on duty were notified that it was an emergency case.

However, the nurses continued taking their tea and ignored the woman despite her begging for assistance.

She was helped by the man to stand from the wheelchair but the baby was coming out and dropped to the floor.

This forced one of the nurses to swing into action to pick the child from the floor as the other moved to attend to the woman.

The man recording the video is heard scolding the nurses for failing to attend to the woman.