Child waits 21 hours for hospital bed

Anel van Staden, who lives in Crystal Park, said she took her son to the hospital at 6pm because she thought he might have broken his arm.

“We got to the hospital and I opened a file, but we waited for six hours until a doctor came in and told the nurses to give my son pain medication, splint his arm and do x-rays,” she said.

Van Staden said after the long wait, she was told that a doctor could not assess her son’s arm until he was admitted.

“We just sat in the waiting room throughout the night,” she said.

“C-Jay was still in a lot of pain, but we just sat and waited.

“I did not sleep at all.”

Hendrik Buda, the hospital’s communication manager, said the wait depended on the availability of a bed.

“After the review by the doctor, the child was admitted on February 22, at 3pm, on the availability of an empty bed.

“The boy was given a bed in Ward Two, where he is admitted for further management,” he said.

Van Staden said her son was supposed to see the doctor on February 23, but he did not.

“When I asked why no doctor tended to him, I was told that the doctor will assess him the following morning,” she said.

However, she visited C-Jay on Wednesday afternoon (February 24), and the doctor had still not seen him.

Van Staden was uncertain when the doctor would see her son or if the child would need an operation.

The hospital was contacted for comment, but none had been received at the time of publication.

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