Father of sick two-year-old said he was assaulted by security at hospital
They had come to the hospital bringing their two-year-old sick child who was vomiting and coughing
A man who took his sick child to hospital to be treated alleges that he had been assaulted by security officers at Witbank Hospital.
Mr Elken Themba said he was in the casualty section, on Saturday, February 15 at about 13:30 together with his wife.
They had come to the hospital bringing their two-year-old sick child who was vomiting and coughing.
According to the police report, the couple had an argument with the nurses after waiting for a long time for service which led to the security officers being called to the scene.
“I asked a nurse if my child’s file has been called, she said no but took the file to the doctor. The doctor said he will attend to my child. I asked about the delay and the nurse asked me to be patient because she will take back the file and I will then wait longer. I asked the nurse to repeat what she said as I recorded her, she did. She then called the security officers who took me out to the main entrance and started assaulting me. They were trying to force me to delete the video,” said Themba.
Themba added to say that he was then bought back to the casualty and was forced to delete the video. He said he was punched and kicked by five security officers which resulted in back and leg injuries.
“We were then chased out of the hospital without my child being helped,” concluded Themba.
In November last year, a patient who was being treated for gunshot wounds was shot and killed at the hospital.
It was reported that a man arrived at the hospital in the evening on a Saturday and after a squabble, with the patient, several shots were fired.
The patient died after the shooting in his bed.
Earlier, nurses and doctors had raised their concerns at the hospital about their safety.
In June, the department reported that they would be beefing up security at the hospital after an incident in which a gun was involved.
Two men fighting at a tavern were taken to casualty for treatment but became involved in a shootout at the hospital.
After police were called to the scene, no one was hurt.
A questionnaire was sent to the Department of Health for a response but none was received.
