Luke waited eight hours to be transferred after dog attack
His ear was bitten off and his face was disfigured.
It then took eight hours for Luke Flemming (3) to be transported from the Tambo Memorial Hospital (TMH) to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), to receive care from a plastic surgeon.
Luke was mauled by at least two Jack Russells, at his Northmead home, on May 28.
The Tambo Memorial Hospital CEO Dr Aroomugum Naidoo confirmed there was a delay in his transportation ”due to circumstances beyond the control of TMH”.
”However, while Luke was waiting for transfer to CMJAH, he received optimal quality care at TMH,” said Naidoo.
The three-year-old’s father, Gary Flemming, commented that ”eight hours is a bit ridiculous”.
He feels the delay, which he was told would take two hours, took too long and he was worried about his son’s blood loss.
However, he said hospital staff did their best.
”They looked after him pretty well and gave him rabies shots and kept him comfortable,” he said.
Gary is uncertain whether Luke’s ear could have been saved, had he been transferred sooner.
He will undergo skin grafts on his ear on Tuesday
He is awake and talking and is being fed porridge with a spoon, but still consumes liquids through a syringe.
