Pregnant woman found sleeping on hospital floor
The hospital CEO blasted for not spending more time at the healthcare facility.
City of Johannesburg Health and Social Development MMC Ashley Sauls posted a video that went viral on April 1 and which exposed how the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital was treating expectant mothers.
The video showed several women sleeping on the floor of the hospital while others were asleep in chairs in the early hours of the morning. Sauls alleged that the mothers-to-be had been accommodated in that way for up to three days.
The discovery resulted in the hospital receiving backlash prompting Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi to meet with the management of the hospital.
Got news at 00:30 that pregnant women at Rahima Moosa hospital are sleeping on the floor for up to 3 days, I went there immediately and sadly found it to be true. We cannot allow this to continue 😠😠😠we must restore the HEART of service pic.twitter.com/bWrwhyqa3w
— Ashley Sauls I – AS1 (@AshleySauls_1st) April 1, 2022
According to the health department, the hospital has 338 approved beds with 353 in use and an average bed occupancy rate of 115% in obstetrics and neonates. Additionally, they have repurposed 22 beds to accommodate more antenatal patients in the last two years making a total of 56 antenatal beds which is still insufficient.
Over the past decade, the hospital has experienced an increased patient load, from 10 000 to 16 000 deliveries per annum. This is the second-highest in the country after Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
The hospital does not have a policy of turning away patients and therefore treats patients from Gauteng, other provinces and the continent. It receives and treats patients as they arrive at the facility and refers them where possible.
https://fb.watch/cek_iZI7yO/
The hospital came under more criticism when it was discovered that the Hospital CEO Nozuko Mkabayi spends about a third of her time working from home. This was brought to light after the Democratic Alliance shared a written reply to questions directed at Health MEC Mokgethi. Since her appointment on January 1, she has only spent 182 days at the hospital.
DA Shadow Minister of Health Jack Bloom said, “I am astounded that a hospital CEO is not full-time at the hospital to ensure that everything runs smoothly. No wonder she doesn’t know that pregnant women sleep on the floor, and she blames opposition parties for staging a video that highlighted this outrageous situation. Doctors and nurses do not have the luxury of working from home, so how can a hospital chief set such a poor example?”
The department stated the matter has since been escalated to the Quality Assurance Unit and is currently being investigated.
