KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has ordered an urgent investigation into Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital. This follows the emergence of a video depicting a patient in an unhygienic condition at home after allegedly discharged with open wounds.
In the video, the patient’s daughter can be heard narrating the ordeal, including allegations that her mother was assaulted and insulted by healthcare workers during her time at the hospital.
After receiving the video on Wednesday night, 9 June 2021, the Department’s internal systems immediately sprang into action. In less than 30 minutes, an ambulance had been dispatched to fetch the patient from her home at Umlazi “CC” Section. Reacting to the incident, MEC Simelane said she was severely disturbed by the video and instructed the Head of Department to see that an urgent investigation is instituted. “The investigation must interrogate, among other things, whether the patient was clinically managed properly and whether she should have been discharged in her state. It must also establish whether she can identify the people who allegedly assaulted and insulted her. Obviously, our immediate goal, at the moment is that she urgently receives the medical care that she requires, so that she can hopefully recover. So, we are glad that she’s been brought back into our care.”
However, Simelane stresses, it is essential to determine if there has been any wrongdoing on anyone’s part to take the necessary sanctions and corrective action. “We are very serious about consequence management. The days of mistreating patients and healthcare professionals making themselves guilty of dereliction of duty, thinking they will get away with it, are over. Our fellow compatriots come to our health facilities when they need medical care, because they have nowhere else to go. We, therefore, cannot sit by and fold our hands while our people appear to be mistreated. It can’t be.”
With this in mind, Simelane emphasises that this matter will be dealt with as a priority, and the Department will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of this.
Moreover, the MEC urged aggrieved patients or relatives to exercise their right of recourse and not leave healthcare facilities without lodging a complaint or, where necessary, seeking further medical assistance. Concluding, Simelane affirmed, “Even those who have been discharged…if their medical condition takes a turn for the worst, we urge that they be brought back to hospital as a matter of urgency.”
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