WHILE fighting for her life after being struck by a car on Saturday, an eShowe Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officer was reportedly turned away from two local private hospitals.
Twenty-seven-year-old Sinelisiwe Mhlongo suffered several traumatic injuries, including two broken legs, a broken arm as well as neck and head injuries after she was hit by a VW Golf on the R66 near Ndundulu between Empangeni and Melmoth.
It is understood she was conducting a speed monitoring exercise with colleagues at the time.
The exact circumstances leading up to the accident remain unclear at this stage.
The Zululand Observer received reports from two informed sources that Mhlongo, who has been with eShowe RTI since 2014, was refused admission at Life Empangeni Private Hospital and Netcare The Bay Hospital – who both offered different reasons for being unable to immediately treat her.
According to officials involved in the aftermath of the crash, but preferring to remain anonymous for professional reasons, the Empangeni hospital no longer accepts injury on duty (IOD) cases, while Netcare The Bay did not have a specialist surgeon available that could assess the officer’s head injuries.
Some hours after the crash, Mhlongo was finally treated at Ngwelezana Hospital before being transferred to Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban where she remains in a critical, but stable condition.
Family members on Wednesday described her condition as ‘extremely bad’, saying she still could not speak.
Another RTI officer expressed his dismay at the situation.
‘As government employees, we are all on medical aid. Why do we pay for it, and its expensive, if in a life-threatening emergency the private hospitals closest to us can’t or won’t help us?’ he asked.
Both hospitals were contacted for comment but did not respond at the time of going to print.
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