Father seeks justice for his son after paramedics allegedly arrived ill-equipped in an ambulance
MackDonald Adams shared the story of his son’s tragic last hour on this earth.
MackDonald Adams from Eldorado Park, extension 9 seeks justice for his son after paramedics allegedly arrived ill-equipped in an ambulance.
Adams shared the story of his son’s tragic last hour on this earth. According to the resident it was 00.30 am on March 30 when he received a call from his daughter stating that he needs to come to the house because Kelly Botha (name of the son) had severe chest pains and needed to get to the hospital.
The resident explained that his daughter called the ambulance already, and as Adams arrived at the house, he shared that he had to signal to the ambulance because it seemed as though they were lost.
The two paramedics arrived with Adams, and found Botha laying on his back on the floor. Adams said that the paramedics asked his son which hospital does he use and if he is on any medication.
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According to Adams, Botha had no medical issues in the past.
“My son wanted to go to Helen Joseph Hospital. The two paramedics tried to lift my son up to see if he can walk, as they lifted him, my son just said to me that I must look after his children and then he collapsed and hit his head against the wall because he was feeling dizzy.
“When he hit his head against the wall, foam started coming out of his mouth, we all got nervous so they laid him straight on the floor again, put him on a stretcher and when he was on there, I saw that he was unconscious.
“They put him into the ambulance and the defibrillation (a machine that delivers a dose of electric current to the heart) was not working, they had no oxygen machine, no torch, they said that they should rush him to the fire station or Lenmed, but then they said that they need to be three paramedics, two with the patient and the driver. I asked them since when is that the rule, they said that I mustn’t tell them what to do,” explained Adams.
The father continued to explain that the paramedics tried to resuscitate his son, Adams also added that the paramedics injected medications three times into his son but he was still not responding.
“I said to them that they killed my son, so they said no, they then closed the doors of the ambulance and told me that they called for back-up. The backup came after a long time. My son’s death was proclaimed at 02.03. The backup paramedic came and was in the ambulance for about ten or fifteen minutes. I told the backup paramedic that I am not satisfied with what happened to my son, he told me that I can go report the matter at the station,” added Adams.
The father has since, reported the incident and handed in his statement at the station. Adams also shared that the ambulance did not have number plates on it.
“I am now fighting because the report said that the ambulance was dispatched to a collapse, my son did not collapse when we called the ambulance. My daughter called the ambulance because my son had severe chest pains, he collapsed because they tried to make him stand up,” concluded Adams.
Botha was 39 when he passed away, leaving behind his two children and he was laid to rest on April 10. His father said that he would like justice for his son.
Spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, Robert Mulaudzi was contacted for comment, Mulaudzi said: “After conducting further investigations regarding your inquiry we can confirm that the ambulance which responded to the incident was fully resourced and the crews who attended the incident handled the situation effectively and professionally as required by our standard operating procedures, however, if the family is not happy with the conduct of the crews during the incident we are encouraging them to lay a formal complaint with the City of Johannesburg so that the matter can be investigated further.”
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