Dr. Catherine Jackson-Cole has reported the loss of a baby’s life at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) commonly called Cottage hospital due to the hospital’s lack of surgical equipment to perform emergency surgery on the mother.
According to a tweet by the doctor, “No sutures at theatre yesterday, patient could not be operated on until 5 hours after arrival, by then baby was dead in uterus. She had diabetes in pregnancy and fasting blood sugar was 200mg/dl. Sugar was controlled but baby could not be removed…OK O!
The surgical suture is medical equipment that is mostly used by doctors during surgery to close or hold wounds to the skin or other tissues.
According to UNICEF, Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world with 1,360 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and one of the highest neonates (34), infants (82), and under-five children (111) per 1,000 live births. Maternal deaths account for about 36 percent of all deaths amongst women aged 15-49 years in Sierra Leone.
Cottage hospital is one of the main referral hospitals in Freetown alongside Connaught hospital. Dr. Jackson-Cole has been reporting several basic problems that the hospital is facing and that cannot properly make it function such as lack of consistent running water, no gowns at the heart, gloves, and emergency blood.
Dr. Jackson-Cole is a medical practitioner at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital commonly known as ‘Cottage Hospital’.
More Stories
Sierra Leone ranked as the third unhappiest country in the world – 2023 World Happiness Report
Amnesty International raises concerns over government’s inaction in dispensing justice for August 10 victims
“Freetown Peninsula” named World’s Greatest Places for 2023