Pensioner loses leg after ‘bad hospital service’
A Carletonville resident is livid after losing his leg, allegedly because he did not get the necessary help at Carletonville Hospital.
“I am complaining because I do not want this to happen to other people,” says Mr Andre Roodt (64), who went through the ordeal just over two months ago.
According to the diabetic, his left foot started swelling badly and became sore around the end of March. Even worse, he had four little black marks on the back of his calf. Because of this, he promptly visited Carletonville Hospital on 29 March and took an ambulance to get medical attention.
According to Roodt and his wife, Wonnie, they were unprepared for the lack of concern from medical personnel, including the doctor, at the hospital.
“My foot ached, but the doctor just gave me an injection and some pain pills and told me to go home,” he complains.
Roodt’s condition deteriorated, and he had to return to Carletonville Hospital on 12 April.
“My foot was so sore that I could not sleep at night; I sat upright in agony through the night,” he says.
Roodt says, this time, the doctor took blood samples and told him to return the following Monday.
By then, he was in excruciating pain, and he, his wife and his landlord, Mr Ben James, saw that the black spots on his leg had become gangrenous.
They took the drastic step of arranging with a relative for Roodt to go to Potchefstroom Hospital for further medical attention.
“When I got there, the first doctor who saw me looked at my leg and told me it had to be amputated. He said I had waited too long to get help,” says Roodt in fury.
His left leg was amputated just above the knee, and he now has to get by in a wheelchair.
“I only receive a government pension. I used to increase my income by buying and selling things. Now I cannot do it anymore because I cannot drive,” laments Roodt. “We pleaded with the doctor and other staff to look at my leg properly. If they had, they could have saved it.
“Why did they not send me to Leratong Hospital if they could not give me the necessary help in Carletonville?”
The Herald asked Carletonville Hospital’s communication officer, Mr Matabo Letsoalo, about the issue. He said the hospital could only reply in time for next week’s publication.
