Johannesburg -A 67-year-old wheelchair-bound pensioner has died shortly after being discharged from a hospital, allegedly to make space for other patients.
Gogo Dimakatso Ndou had earlier been briefly admitted to Tembisa Hospital after spending hours in a waiting queue at the casualty ward, with other patients.
Ndou’s horrified family said after standing in the queue for "many hours," they had to enlist the help of a friend who is a local politician, who then contacted the office of Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Ralehoko.
"Only then our gogo was attended to when the friend and the office of the Gauteng MEC intervened. We left after being assured that she would be admitted to a ward and allocated a bed," her granddaughter Mpho said.
"We came back the next day to visit her, and we were shocked to find her still seated in the wheelchair at the casualty ward, instead of on the bed," the granddaughter said.
Mpho said they again sought the help of their friend and Ralehoko’s office and were then assisted, with her grandmother being given a bed in the casualty section.
"The following day we were told she would be discharged to make room for other patients. When we tried to question the wisdom of discharging her, we were told gogo had water on her heart. One doctor told us she was being discharged and would recover at home," Mpho said.
"We could see that she was not ready to come home, but because they wanted to clear the bed for the next patient, they discharged her early. She was in the casualty ward throughout her stay in the hospital and was never even taken to a ward," Mpho said.
Gogo Ndou was discharged on November 9, and she died at home the next day.
Mpho said the family helplessly watched her grandmother's condition deteriorate in front of their eyes at home.
"We called the hospital and told them she is still not well, and they told us to keep her on the medication. But the medication just made her feel worse," Mpho said.
The Star understands that the community of Tembisa has had numerous complaints about the hospital; some had complained about insufficient staff and negligence from nurses and some medical staff.
"People die in that hospital, and there are so many problems… Those who come back from that hospital come back with new problems. We are also investigating to see if they even gave my grandmother the right medicine," Mpho said.
Tembisa Hospital has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, including mass corruption concerning procurement.
This is the same hospital that was exposed for paying over R200 million for face towels, leather seats, and other questionable transactions.
The Gauteng Health Department had not responded at the time of publication.
The Star