South Hills woman relates awful experience at South Rand Hospital

She claimed she was made to wait for quite some time until she was assisted and shown a room. Also, the patients were forced to eat with their hands as no spoons or forks were provided.

June 21, 2019

Sibonelo Mtshali 2 minutes read

Natasha Janse van Rensburg holds her baby girl Morgan Kruger as husband Reynier Kruger looks on.

NATASHA Janse van Rensburg feels she was ill-treated at South Rand Hospital during her time of labour.

The 41-year-old from South Hills said she was admitted to hospital on May 16 and she was two weeks overdue.

She claimed she was made to wait for quite some time until she was assisted and shown a room. Also, the patients were forced to eat with their hands as no spoons or forks were provided.

She told the COURIER she was given medication that would help her go into labour and she would have to drink it for 12 hours. But the medication apparently didn’t help as she was told she would go for C-section on May 18.

“On May 18, a doctor told me the theatre wasn’t open on weekends, therefore, it would not be possible to go through with the operation. I found out this was a lie as some of the nurses told me they did C-sections on May 17 and 18. Also, I wasn’t taken to Joburg General Hospital because it was dangerous for me because of the medication in my system,” she said.

Natasha Janse van Rensburg is grateful to finally hold her baby girl, Morgan Kruger.

The proposed date for her operation was then moved to May 20.

“I was administered with a drip and catheter. On the day of the operation I was given porridge and after eating I was again told I can’t have the operation because I ate something,” she said.

The hospital proposed another day, which was May 21.

She explained she was moved to another room with other females who were there for days, also waiting to be operated on. She claimed after all that she was told there wasn’t enough time to go through with the operation.

“The nurses there are so pathetic. When I was in the first room, the ladies who were in labour weren’t helped either. Two ladies gave birth in the hallway. What is that?” Janse van Rensburg added.

On May 22 after she finally had a C-section, she was the mother of a beautiful baby girl.

But she still claims the service she received was shocking and unbearable.

“I have never seen nurses ignore pregnant women like South Rand Hospital’s maternity ward. Even when you have pain after the operation you have to wait hours for pain medication and you get sent home with Panados for pain,” she concluded.

The COURIER contacted the hospital and they released the following statement:

The hospital offers three meals per day to the patients and cutlery is provided with all the meals. Patients are also given a choice on how to eat. In the event where the cutlery is damaged or lost, it is replaced.

The procedures (operations) are explained to the patients. Thereafter, patients are requested to complete a consent letter before the procedure can be done.

The hospital further encourages community members to lodge complaints with respective head of units and the Quality Assurance Office when they feel aggrieved.

Furthermore, the hospital quality and complaints procedures have been published in the local newspaper in order for community members to know and understand the steps they have to follow when they are aggrieved.

The hospital continues to work towards the improvement of the quality of care and will keep on engaging all health-care workers in ensuring employees’ attitudes are addressed.