An appeal has been made to the Mpumalanga MEC for Health, Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini, to conduct an investigation into an alleged case of malpractice and negligence at the Ermelo Provincial Hospital.
Mr Martin Roos of Ermelo was admitted to the hospital on 30 December last year and passed away on 21 January this year after undergoing abdominal surgery.
His family requested that steps be taken “to prevent this happening to someone else”.
Family members and friends have documented the events leading to Martin’s death with photos and video footage.
The Highvelder has copies of these, which tell a tale of horror.
In one of the videos recorded before he passed away, Martin expresses a wish for his story to be told “so that nobody else has to go through what
I’m going through”.
Throughout his ordeal, Martin photographed and recorded the events on his cell phone. The phone then mysteriously disappeared from his possessions.
On one on the videos recorded by family members he talks about the disappearance of his phone.
According to a family member, at 3am on the morning of 30 December last year, Martin (46) complained of severe stomach pains.
He drove himself to the Ermelo Provincial Hospital where X-rays showed he had suffered a torn stomach wall. He underwent surgery the same morning.
A second operation was done a week later, due to the suppurating wound.
This time the incision was not closed up and for a week he lay in a general ward with a gaping wound in his abdomen.
Research done by the Highvelder indicated that this kind of procedure, known as “Secondary or Second Intention Healing’, is used by surgeons in cases where large wounds are treated more than six hours after they occur, for highly contaminated wounds and wounds with too much swelling or skin loss.
The wound is then purposely kept open to allow for tissue re-growth and to monitor possible infection, but such procedures must be closely monitored and treated in strictly sterile conditions.
“In Martin’s case he lay in a general ward with an infected open wound for a week,” said his former wife, who is known to the Highvelder, but at this stage wishes to remain anonymous.
“For the next few days he complained of extreme pain and discomfort, but the nursing staff was slow and seemingly unwilling to administer pain medication. The bedclothes were constantly soiled and the open wound was in an obvious state of extreme infection with pus constantly dripping out,” she said.
Dr Gomez, the hospital superintendent, returned from leave on 14 January and immediately had Martin taken to theatre where he personally cleaned the wound and closed it up.
Morphine was then apparently administered to combat the extreme pain Martin was enduring.
According to records kept by Martin’s ex-wife, by 18 January the wound was extremely septic with puss and moisture running down his abdomen.
“The bed linen was very dirty and soiled and was not changed regularly. There was a bad smell in the room. When we asked why the linen and soiled bedclothes were not changed, we were told they could not be changed every five minutes.
“Martin was now feverish and thirsty and his lips were cracked and bleeding. Yet there was no water at his bedside. We brought ice cubes from home and when we put them in his mouth, he sucked them furiously. I could see he was extremely thirsty.”
Two days later, on 20 January, with still no change in Martin’s condition, family members enquired about his prognosis and were told nothing could be done for him, because it was thought he had stomach cancer.
“By then we could see Martin’s condition was deteriorating rapidly and we called a pastor to pray for him. He became peaceful, but he died in a dirty, pus-filled hospital bed on 21 January,” said his ex-wife.
“Where does one draw the line? I wonder how many other people have similar stories to tell. How many lives of loved ones must be lost or be put in jeopardy before someone with authority takes the necessary steps to rectify this atrocious state of affairs?” she asked.
On Monday, the Mpumalanga spokesman for Health, Mr Ronnie Masilela, responded to enquiries concerning Mr Roos’s death.
“What a sad and disturbing story. The Department will definitely investigate this with immediate effect. We can assure you that no stone will be left unturned,” he said.
