Resident let down at government health facilities

Benoni resident Nerise Gloster recently shared a harrowing account of her experience in the healthcare system, saying this raises significant concerns regarding patient care and treatment at government hospitals.

In January, Gloster began feeling unwell and sought help from a doctor in Crystal Park, who called an ambulance to rush her to the Far East Rand Hospital.

Upon arrival, they placed her in a room with over 40 other patients.

“An intern told me it is my appendix – this without any urine sample, sonar or anything else,” she recounted.

She described a chaotic scene with unsuccessful attempts to insert an intravenous drip, resulting in her leaving the hospital in frustration after receiving no pain management or proper testing.

Also Read: Revamped paediatric area at TMH welcomes families

Gloster’s ordeal continued in February when severe pain prompted her to Uber herself to Tambo Memorial Hospital.

Here, she was again told it was her appendix and spent the night in the emergency ward because of a lack of available beds.

“The next day, an ultrasound revealed that my appendix had burst.”

Gloster expressed disappointment with the surgeon’s attitude: “The surgeon who saw my ultrasound was not compassionate about my pain and at first even said I was simply overweight.”

After undergoing surgery, Gloster’s recovery was plagued with further distressing experiences.

She described waking up in the ICU handcuffed to the bed and being scrubbed down painfully by nurses.

“I was very frightened,” she said, adding her daughter had to bring her necessities like water and linen because of inadequate hospital provisions.

Throughout her 10-day stay at Tambo Memorial, Gloster said she faced numerous challenges, including the poor state of the facility and insufficient medical attention.

“The toilets and taps didn’t work,” she said.

Despite her ongoing pain and complications, she felt neglected by the staff: “I learned to keep my mouth shut and didn’t even eat the food.

“After being discharged, I discovered, through my general practitioner, that I developed a hernia that required urgent surgery.

“This could have been avoided if I received proper care.

“I refuse to return to Tambo Memorial,” she asserted firmly.

She urged others to be cautious when seeking treatment at government hospitals, emphasising that patients should not blindly trust the system.

The spokesperson for the hospital Zoliswa Nzeku said they received the complaint and forwarded it to their quality assurance department for further investigation and intervention.

Also Read: Family cries foul over ‘poor service’ at TMH