Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane visited with the family of a three-week-old baby who had her hand amputated at hospital on Sunday.

The child was initially admitted with diarrhoea at a Delmas hospital, but was found to have medical complications, which led to her being transferred to the Witbank Hospital where her hand had to be amputated.

Mtshweni-Tsipane and the province’s health minister, Sasekani Manzini, have instigated an investigation to understand how the child’s illness led to her having to lose her hand.

“We should get a preliminary report by next week. We need only  the truth as to what happened,  but we also need to make sure we support the family and offer counselling to the young mother and the rest of the family,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.

Manzini said: “The premier and I as mothers ourselves saw it fit that we come here in person to show the family that they are not alone.” 

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