Pinetown family finds man ‘declared dead’, alive
Staff at at the St Mary's Hospital told the family the man's file must have been swapped with another patient who had passed away.
A SAVANNAH Park (located in Pinetown) family is fuming after being told by St Mary’s Hospital that their beloved relative was dead when he was still alive.
A family member, Thulisile Khumalo, said she received a call at 7.10am on Thursday, 2 January.
“I was asked if I knew Mfanafuthi Khumalo and how I was related to him.”
Thulisile said she told the person on the line that she was his sister.
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“I was then asked who I was with and replied that my husband was with me. She then told me that my brother passed away and I have to bring his ID and mine.
“I broke down, neighbours came to the house, called his manager and he rushed to the house and took me to the hospital,” said the shattered Thulisile.
Upon her arrival at the hospital, Thulisile went straight to the ward. To her surprise her brother, who the hospital claimed had died, was sitting on his bed.
“I could not believe it, I was shocked. I went outside to call the people I was with. When we questioned this, we were told that they made a mistake and that his file must have been swapped with another man who was the one that passed away. The doctor had already signed a form to certify his death,” she said.
According to Thulisile, her brother was admitted in early December after complaining about a headache and received a pass-out on 24 December.
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“Seeing that he was still sick, we took him back on the 26th,” she said.
The news came as a shock to Thulisile who visited her brother the day before and she did not believe he looked like someone who was about to die.
After this incident, the family’s biggest worry is that Mfanafuthi may have been given the wrong medication if the files were swapped.
“I have never heard of such negligence. This incident has really traumatised us. If I had the means, I would sue the hospital,” she said.
An email was sent to the Department of Health about this incident and the Highway Mail did not receive any response by the time of going to print.
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