Marie Packery of Sunnyridge is demanding answers from Life the Glynnwood after she claims that her husband Dante, a transgender male, was discriminated against following his admission to the hospital.
Dante was admitted to the hospital on May 20 after being diagnosed with pneumonia.
“Within eight hours he was placed on a ventilator and it was found that he had tested positive for Covid 19,” said the distraught wife, Marie.
“Upon admission, I informed the staff that my husband is transgender and although he had been sedated and therefore in an induced coma, that he identifies as male and should therefore be addressed as such.
“Soon I could sense that the staff were whispering about Dante and I felt like we were being treated differently to patients that would be deemed as ‘normal’ based on their sexual orientation.”
She continues by saying that due to her husband’s medical records, staff refused to refer to him as a man.
“When I called to find out how my husband was progressing the information was vague. However telephonic conversations overheard between staff and family members of other patients seemed a lot more informative and caring,” said Marie.
“During one visiting hour, I was horrified to see that Dante was left in his bed, bare-chested and in full view of anyone that entered the ICU unit.
“As part of his transformation, Dante has not undergone any surgery but has started chemical treatment. Leaving him lying like that seemed callous and inhumane.”
During a confrontation with nursing staff, Marie claims that when asked about the discriminatory manner in which her husband was being treated staff seemingly shrugged and said that they did not know how to deal with people like them.
“Despite his critical condition I requested that he be moved to the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg,” she said.
“I know that I took a gamble with his life but feel that he was not receiving dignified treatment and that he was not safe.”
In response to Packery’s complaint, hospital manager Hendrik Swartz responded by saying that he is aware of allegations of poor patient care and discrimination against a transgender patient admitted to the hospital.
“Whilst we have not received a formal written complaint, we are aware that certain allegations have been posted on social media. In this regard, please note the timeline when hospital management became aware of the informal verbal complaint,” said Swartz.
“Hospital management has met with the patient’s spouse and subsequently offered her the opportunity to meet with the treating physicians to provide feedback and to articulate her complaint in detail. The patient’s spouse unfortunately declined.”
He said they understand that having a loved one admitted to the hospital can be an extremely distressing time and every effort is made to ensure that quality care is provided in a dignified and respectful manner to ensure that patients and their families have a positive experience, no matter a patient’s gender or sexual orientation.
“Life Healthcare recognises and promotes local and international principles of human rights, diversity and inclusion and we strive to ensure that all our patients are always afforded the privacy, dignity, and respect they deserve, as outlined in our policies and code of conduct,” said Swartz.
“Our staff members are required to subscribe to and regularly receive training on, the terms of our policies and our code of conduct. We take allegations of discrimination very seriously.
“We remain open to engaging with the spouse and the patient, together with the treating clinicians to address this matter further.”
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