Negligence on a whole new level
Last week a woman gave birth on the streets of Alex after allegedly being turned away from a nearby clinic.
The reasons for being turned away, according to the new mother, was because she was registered at the Edenvale General Hospital.
How could the nurses think this woman was in a fit state to travel all the way to Edenvale while in the advanced stages of labour?
To view the video and read more about this incident. click here.
Earlier this year, a baby died after the mother was denied access to the Lenasia South Clinic, and shortly after that, a second child died after being chased away from the very same hospital.
The Hippocratic oath practitioners take when starting off their medical careers states that health professionals will treat the ill to the best of their ability. I, for one, don’t think this oath is taken seriously by some individuals.
Yes, it was not the nurses or doctors who chased away the victims in these two cases, security handled that situation, but this simply is not good enough. My heart goes out to the woman who gave birth last week. She must have been terrified and in a state of shock.
Giving birth to a child can be a very frightening thing – giving birth on the sidewalk, with the help of a vendor – must have been one of the most traumatic things this woman has experienced.
Situations such as the ones mentioned are not acceptable. The Department of Health needs to come up with a very good reason why this is happening, and on such a frequent basis. The lives lost, could have been avoided if someone cared enough to stand up and stop the laziness and apathy at some clinics.
Our Health Department is clearly in a state of emergency and the stories coming in from the public are so unreal one has to read the story in newspapers twice just to make sure it was read correctly.
A few weeks ago we heard about the patient who was told to wait seven years for a joint replacement. When I heard the story, I thought April Fools Day had come early … only to find out, the information published was correct.
Johannesburg is a beautiful place to live – but if I ever need medical attention, I hope I am not anywhere near one of these facilities!
