Published on : 24/04/2022 – 02:13
A sit-in was organized on Saturday Place de la Nation in Dakar by the recent collective “Patients in danger” to support Astou Sokhna. This young woman died in early April at 9 months of pregnancy after 20 hours of waiting at the regional hospital in Louga, a city in the north of the country. His family has filed a complaint for medical negligence, 4 midwives are currently under arrest warrant. A case that mobilizes because it echoes the recurrent hospital violence suffered in the country.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Thea Olivier
All dressed in a “Patients in danger” t-shirt, a few dozen demonstrators gathered to shout their indignation at the medical negligence
Several of them took the microphone to testify publicly, including Fatou Jupiter Touré who recounted the violence she had already observed. ” I grew up in fear of all these stories of people who had problems giving birth. The case of a very close person who, going to give birth, could no longer hold on because of the contractions, and to whom a midwife demanded that she clean the table that another woman had just used. I think this kind of abuse needs to stop. »
Since the Astou Sokhna affair, many health professionals denounce a “lynching”. Gahëls Babacar Mbaye, spokesperson for the “Patients in Danger” collective, explains that improving the working conditions of caregivers is one of the demands, so that they can provide quality care to patients.
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But she still regrets a certain impunity. ” Similar cases have already taken place here in Senegal, unfortunately the responsibilities are not located. Procedures are triggered but there is no culprit. What we want is for Senegalese to have access to quality care. That in this case Astou Sokhna, that we can locate the responsibilities. It is important to punish. »
Six midwives from Louga hospital will be tried next Wednesday for failure to assist a person in danger.
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