Health

Patient turned away without any medical assistance or medication

THABAZIMBI – The situation at the Thabazimbi Hospital apparently has not changed much from what it was at the beginning of the year when the nursing staff protested following the death of a pregnant woman patient who died during labour because of lack of medical attention. The protests were levied against the shortage of doctors, bad hospital administration as well as bad working conditions. An investigation two months earlier into the situation by higher authorities had not resulted in any feed back or improvements in the conditions.

In one of the latest cases a private doctor allegedly made two attempts to have a patient hospitalised in the Thabazimbi Hospital. At the third attempt he was eventually admitted. The patient, Corporal Magano, discharged himself after occupying a bed for a whole week without a doctor seeing him. Magano passed away since the interview with Die Kwêvoël.

Magano was a TB patient whose wife and family lives in Thabazimbi, and had been on TB medication for six months. When the medication was finished his health deteriorated and he went to see a private doctor. The doctor found that his condition has worsened and that one of lungs was very badly affected. At the hospital, however, they refused to admit him, saying that he was not sick enough. The same thing happened a second time. For the week, from 25 May to 1 June he eventually spent in hospital, he never received any TB medication. This fact was allegedly confirmed by his medicine chart. Magano claimed that he only received pain killers in the hospital.

On the day he left the hospital his arm, into which the drip was administered, was swollen to three times its normal size. It seemed that the needle of the drip pulled out of the vein during the night and the fluid built up under his skin. When he left the hospital this fluid was running out of his arm like water. He could not move his arm and neither the leg on the same side of his body.

After his ordeal he went to the clinics where he received his TB medication once again.

Last week, about a hundred patients were shown away by the hospital. The reason for this is still being investigated. One of these patients, who suffer from cancer, could not get her medication on account of patients being told to leave the hospital premises.

After several attempts, over a two week period, to get a response from the Health Department regarding the Magano case, the Department still had not replied to any enquiries.