A routine dentist appointment turned disastrous when Jacinta Maina took her five-year-old granddaughter to a hospital to have her decaying tooth removed.
On arrival at Pope John Paul II Huruma Health Centre in Nanyuki the girl was ushered in the dental room, but as the dentist administered anaesthesia, the needle broke.
Ms Maina noticed that something had gone wrong when the dentist struggled with the child for about 20 minutes, and her screams grew louder.
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“All of a sudden, the doctor panicked. The girl was crying as the doctor tried to locate something in her mouth. I asked if the needle had broken, but no one answered,” she said.
During this time, Ms Maina, was assisting a nurse to restrain the girl. The dentist then left with girl and went to a separate section of the hospital, leaving Ms Maina confused.
About 15 minutes later, the dentist returned with an X-Ray. He broke the news that a needle was stuck in the minor’s gum and handed Ms Maina a referral letter to Nanyuki County Referral Hospital.
KNH
Huruma Hospital through the legal officer of Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri, Father David Mutahi, admitted that the incident had happened.
At the county hospital, doctors said they could not handle the case, and they advised Ms Maina to take the child to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Despite subsequent visits to Chogoria Mission Hospital in Meru and Nanyuki General Hospital, doctors were unable to remove the needle.
Doctors later advised that the needle should not be removed until a time when there is prove it might be posing danger to the child.