The Fincham family, of Farrar Park, is accusing Tambo Memorial Hospital of negligence following the death of their son, Shannon Fincham, from Covid-19 related-complications, on August 14.
The hospital has, however, denied claims of negligence from their side, adding that they provide quality healthcare services to its patients.
According to Shannon’s father, Gerhard Fincham, Shannon was admitted to Tambo Memorial Hospital on the evening of July 31, after he was transferred from Sunward Park Hospital with severe symptoms of Covid-19.
“As we were not allowed to enter the Covid-19 ward, he would send us voice notes expressing his grievances about the hospital,” Gerhard said.
“Shannon complained that his sheets were dirty and that he was placed in a room that had a broken window.
He kept asking for a blanket but apparently he was given a small, thin baby blanket, which was seemingly not even clean, and was told to keep quiet and not complain. We decided to take a blanket to the hospital for him because he kept complaining that he was cold.”
Shannon’s mother, Anita, alleges that her son begged nurses for water but was apparently told to shut up.
“He complained on WhatsApp messages, asking us to ask the staff to give him water,” the distraught parent said.
“On August 2, when he was fully conscious, Shannon begged us to get him out of there fearing that he would die because he was not taken good care of. He also video called us to say goodbye. We sat outside the hospital desperately trying to contact the ward councillor, the hospital CEO, the health premier of Gauteng and various other prominent people to see if they could assist us to get our son out of there.”
On August 4, the family said Shannon’s health deteriorated and they decided to move him to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.
He was in ICU and was eventually incubated due to pneumonia complications. Shannon died on August 14.
“The treatment we received from Charlotte Maxeke Hospital was a hundred times better. The nurses were friendlier and they did all they could to save our son. I feel that if he was given more attention at Tambo Memorial he would have survived,” Gerhard said.
The concerned father said they brought the alleged ill-treatment of Shannon by ICU staff to the attention of the hospital CEO, Zenzo Ndabula, who promised to respond to them but has not done so yet.
“What my son went through I would never wish upon my worst enemy because he went through unnecessary negligence, fear and inhumane treatment,” Gerhard said.
Gerhard also claims that when they visited the hospital they had to pay bribes to the security staff to get parking and that the grounds behind the hospital were strewn with used PPE equipment and were filthy.
He also claimed that PPE and medical waste were overflowing from the dustbins and apparently a forklift went in and out of the hospital, through the corridors with no regard for health and safety procedures.
Tambo Memorial Hospital CEO Zenzo Ndabula responds:
“Mr Fincham’s son was admitted on the evening of July 31 after having been admitted to a private hospital. It is not clear why he left the private hospital. On the morning of August 1, I received a complaint from a member of the provincial legislature (MPL) and a ward councillor via WhatsApp. The complaint had been sent to them by Mr Fincham. The nursing manager on call on the day was requested to investigate the complaint. The ward sister and the treating doctor held a meeting with Mr Fincham. It was the hospital’s understanding that the complaint was resolved. The feedback about the complaint was given to the MPL and the ward councillor to whom Fincham had complained.”
Ndabula said the hospital was not in a position to disclose the general condition of the patient for purposes of patient confidentiality. However, they can disclose that at the time of the complaint, the 31-year-old patient was able to walk, talk and communicate with staff as well as his relatives.
“The patient was not given dirty sheets, and the window was not broken. The patient had a fuller body and was tall and as such the standard blanket for adults in an adult male ward could not cover him completely. These issues are the basis for the complaint and what our team met with Mr Fincham to resolve.”
About the state of the hospital grounds, the hospital CEO said he received a video of Mr Fincham making commentary about the hospital premises from the ward councillor.
“Regrettably, the surroundings were not as described by Fincham and the video did not show the forklift; not that I can recall. The hospital surroundings are cleaned periodically, and the hospital has a forklift for the delivery of heavy items. The hospital gave the patient appropriate treatment and the patient was transferred to a higher facility when the need was identified,” he said.
Ndabula said doctors discussed the condition of the patient with his mother before the transfer was done.
“It is regrettable that Fincham was not satisfied with our service. Members of the public using our services are assured of our efforts to provide quality healthcare services and of our availability to attend to complaints, compliments and suggestions,” he said.
Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos confirmed to the Advertiser that the hospital did give him feedback with regards to Fincham’s complaints. He also confirmed that he also saw the video that Fincham sent to him.
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