Woman leaves hospital without receiving medical help
Ms Graham was transported to Edenvale Hospital and was accompanied by Mr Freier and Mr Haigh.
An Edenvale Hospital doctor allegedly refused to help a woman transported to the hospital after a car accident.
Mr Rory Haigh, Mr Jed Freier, Ms Zoe Graham and Ms Jessica Keever attended a braai in Kempton Park on April 4. After they arrived at their friend’s house, Ms Keever and Ms Graham took the car to buy meat and were involved in a car accident.Ms Keever called Mr Haigh to inform him of the accident and on his arrival at the scene he noticed Ms Graham had a large bruise on her head and was suffering from memory loss.
“Although Ms Keever did not have any noticeable bruises, she was experiencing chest pains,” Mr Haigh told the NEWS.
Ms Graham was transported to Edenvale Hospital and was accompanied by Mr Freier and Mr Haigh.
“We were not informed about the procedures to open a file for Ms Graham in order to get her attended to quickly. After some time, Mr Freier was called to fill in the details for the file,” said Mr Haigh.
A nurse told Mr Haigh to wait in the waiting room. He refused to leave Ms Graham as he was concerned about her injuries.
“One of the beds nearby had a large blood stain, which had soaked into the mattress. The bed was eventually wheeled out and left unattended in the corridor, in full view of everyone. There were even blood stains on the curtains. The men’s toilets in the hospital were filthy,” said Mr Haigh.
“A Dr Zungu approached us and asked me if we had been helped and when I said no, he told me to go wait ‘over there’. When I asked him ‘where’, he became irritated with me. Things were getting ridiculous. We had been there for so long. This is when things turned ugly,” said Mr Haigh.
“We started arguing. When I told him we had been waiting a long time, he pointed at my face and said he refused to help us.
“The doctor accused me of insulting him, which I hadn’t. That was when I lost my temper and swore at him. I could not believe he was denying a person medical help.”
“During the confrontation, Ms Graham wandered off and I called my friend to fetch her so that we could leave the hospital,” said Mr Haigh.
Mr Haigh and Mr Freier took Ms Graham to a doctor the following morning. He said it was discovered she had a fractured arm and had to take sick leave to recover.
Chief executive officer of the Edenvale Hospital, Dr Norman Kernes, said Edenvale Hospital is committed to providing a quality service, within the resource base.
“At no time does the hospital support or accept rude or unprofessional behaviour by any staff member,” said Dr Kernes.
He suggested meeting with the complainant in order to resolve the matter.
According to Dr Kernes, Dr Zungu denied that he refused medical assistance to Ms Graham or any other patient at the Edenvale Hospital.
Commenting on the health and hygiene issues raised by Mr Haigh, Dr Kernes said, “Blood is a fluid routinely managed in casualty. It is cleaned and sanatised as soon as possible in each case.”
Dr Kernes commented the toilets are cleaned on a regular basis, with infection control tools used routinely to keep the bathrooms in a hygienic state.
“All complaints are carefully investigated. The complainants are contacted and involved in reaching a consensus,” said Dr Kernes.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson, Mr Simon Zwane, said the information provided to the department by the hospital was sufficient and no further comment will be forthcoming.
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