A Lakefield resident contacted the City Times after his wife’s cellphone was stolen from her bedside by a man wandering the corridors of the Life The Glynnwood Hospital.
Iqbal Rassool said his wife was robbed of her possession on September 26 while she was admitted at the hospital.
He claimed the perpetrator was allowed into the ward during non-visiting hours and was found to be wandering the corridors freely, as viewed on CCTV footage.
A nurse is seen passing the stranger and paying him little attention while he lurked around, seemingly familiar with his surroundings.
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According to Rassool, the man entered his wife’s room while she was asleep and stole her cellphone from the table next to her bed.
“My wife was in severe pain after undergoing a surgical procedure,” said Rassool.
“She was not even aware that someone had stolen her phone.
“When she got up after a while she realised the phone was gone but it was too late to do anything.”
Rassool also claims workers of the hospital were more concerned with who was responsible for the crime and showed a lack of empathy towards his sick wife.
“My wife did not talk for the next three days – she went into some sort of shock and I had to request for a counsellor from the hospital to talk to her on the day she was discharged.
“I am withholding payment to the hospital from my medical aid for now due to, what I feel, was negligence on the hospital’s part.
“All I wanted was for the perpetrator to be caught and the hospital was red-taping me through the whole process.”
Life The Glynnwood was contacted for comment.
Bobby Ramagwede, East Region regional manager for the group, responded as follows:
“Life The Glynnwood is aware of the incident in question.
“Police were notified of the matter and the necessary internal processes are being followed, in line with Life Healthcare policies.
“The matter is under investigation by the police and, therefore, no further details can be provided.”
Capt Nomsa Sekele, spokesperson for Benoni SAPS, confirmed a case of theft had been opened and an investigation is underway.
Pending the outcome, the healthcare group offered to replace the stolen phone as a measure of good faith.
“I am unhappy with the way my wife and the situation as a whole was treated by the hospital. This is why I want to take further action against them,” Rassool concluded.
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