Public Protector finds Bara staff negligent for the disappearance of a corpse in 2013
The Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, released a report into allegations of maladministration and improper conduct by the hospital.
Baragwanath Hospital staff was found negligent for the disappearance of a corpse in 2013. The Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, released a report into allegations of maladministration and improper conduct by the hospital, this follows a complaint from Sithebe Dlamini (the deceased’s niece) against the hospital and the Diepkloof SAPA respectively.
According to the Public Protector’s report, the deceased, Themba Sithebe was taken to Bara by his son, Andile Charles Mavi on 2013 May 26 and was admitted and after some time, the son asked about his father’s health, he was told by officials at the hospital that they could not find him and it was only when the deceased’s daughter Thuli Sithebe approached the hospital to make enquires, that she was told that the matter would be investigated.
Bara then contacted the daughter and told her that her father had passed on two days after he was admitted, but the whereabouts of his body were still a mystery and the hospital told her that they were still conducting further investigations.
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4-years-later, in 2017 March 23 the hospital concluded its probe, and the Sithebe family was invited to a meeting with officials from the hospital who then informed the family that the investigation had not revealed anything concrete and advised the family to open a criminal case of a missing corpse with the SAPS.
Sithebe family approached the Diepkloof SAPS to open a case and the family alleged that the police failed to investigate the missing corpse complaint, however, the report stated that the allegations against the police were unsubstantiated, stating that the SAPS investigated the complaint of the missing corpse within the reasonable standard that is expected in terms of the law and their powers but that there was maladministration on the part of the hospital staff for failing to inform the deceased’s next of kin and the SAPS regarding the death and this resulted in prejudice suffered by the family in that they could not arrange a proper burial for the deceased. 8 years later, the Sithebe family still couldn’t bury their loved one.
As part of the remedial actions, the Public Protector has directed the acting head of the provincial department of health, Arnold Lesiba Malotana, and hospital CEO Dr. Nkele Lesia to initiate disciplinary steps against the staff members and must issue a formal written apology to the family regarding the hospital’s failure to inform them about the death of Themba Sithebe and the subsequent loss of his corpse.
Malotana and Lesia must also submit a report on the measures that the hospital will put in place to monitor the efficient and effective process of quality assuring and auditing the record-keeping process. All these must be done within 60 working days from the date of the report.
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