The Eastern Cape government is paying R11.1m for a bionic arm for a 13-year-old Kwelera girl whose left hand was amputated in 2012 due to negligence of staff at the Mdantsane NU9 Clinic and the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH). A Daily Dispatch report says even though medical staff denied that their delay in properly diagnosing Liqhame Stemele’s broken arm – which caused the hand to become gangrenous, and eventually required amputation at the wrist – Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba admitted liability when the matter came before the Bhisho High Court.
Stemele, from Kwelerha village, was five when she fell on her elbow and broke her arm. She should have been referred to a medical facility equipped for a proper diagnosis of her injury. But staff negligence means that she, now 13, must be fitted with a new prosthetic left arm every 18 months until her bones reach maturity within the next few years.
Attorney Lutho Klaas, of IC Clark Attorneys in East London, said that once fitted with the bionic arm, Liqhame would have limited use of her arm for basic functions such as grabbing and holding objects – “functions that are very important”. He said medical staff had denied they had been negligent in their diagnosis and treatment, but the department conceded negligence “at the door of the court” on 23 January.
The report says acting judge Mickey Mfenyana made the agreement between Thozama Stemele and Gomba, an order of court.
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