Thandeka Mthembu, Breyten:
I’m writing this letter with dismay over the poor service we experienced at the Ermelo Provincial Hospital recently.
My sister experienced severe stomach pains and was short of breath late at night last week. Not wanting to wait for ages for an ambulance from Ermelo, we made use of one from a local mine to take her to hospital in Ermelo.
We arrived at the Ermelo Provincial Hospital just after midnight. Nurses on duty just sat and chatted amongst themselves and only attended to my sister an hour later. She was asked several personal questions, one of which was her residential address.
After telling them she was from Breyten, she was told that she should have gone to Carolina and they would not attend to her, because they did not know the ambulance people who brought her in.
She was eventually discharged without any examination, but sent away with pain killers after 02.10 and was told to go to Breyten Clinic or Carolina Hospital.
The next morning, we took her to the Breyten Clinic where she was attended to and stabilised and was later discharged.
I wonder how many helpless people are subjected to such ill-treatment from our health facilities.
I call upon the hospital management to take action against the staff on duty that evening, including the sister on duty that evening.
Should management need their details and identity, we shall be willing to assist and end this culture of poor service in our health institutions.
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