New mother complains about treatment at Ermelo Hospital

The hospital says members of the public should contact the CEO at any given time so complaints can be dealt with immediately and investigations can be conducted.

November 2, 2017

Amanda Mthembu 2 minutes read

A new mother who gave birth at Ermelo Provincial Hospital has come out guns blazing, accusing a maternity ward nurse of unprofessional behaviour during her stay.

The mother, who asked not to be named, was admitted last Sunday to give birth.

She had to have an emergency C-section at 12:20 and to her surprise, she gave birth to twins.

Normal procedure says one must not eat eight hours before an operation. When her family visited her the next day, she complained of hunger and thirst.

Also read: Patients wait for medical care at Ermelo Hospital

“The sister attending to us was so rude and unprofessional. She even swore at us. I was physically and mentally exhausted and did not need the added stress of a nurse swearing at me,” she says.

The mother had to drink water from a basin. The place where the water dispenser is supposed to be placed was empty.

“She (the nurse) shouted at me when I complained of thirst. She said I should go and drink from the tap. With all the pain I was experiencing, I had to walk from my bed to the basin to drink water,” the mother said.

When the Highvelder enquired why there was no water dispenser at the ward, management of the hospital directed us to their spokesman.

The mother drank from the tap, as she had no other choice.

The following day, when the same nurse asked for IDs to document the babies and they had none, she repeatedly swore at the mothers, using foul language.

The mother has since been discharged, but she is still angry over her ordeal.

This is just one of complaints of unprofessional behaviour at the hospital.

One mother, who also asked not be named, alleges that after she gave birth at the hospital, there were no nurses in attendance in the maternity ward.

When the Highvelder enquired about said weekend, management refuted the allegation, saying: “Obviously no ward can be without nurses at any given time.”

The hospital has issued a response, saying members of the public should contact the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital at any given time, as the number is available so complaints can be dealt with immediately and investigations can be conducted.

It added that the official fingered in the allegations does not remember any negative incident and was on annual leave for the past two weeks of October.

With regards to no staff members being present when another mother gave birth, they refuted the statement saying four nurses were allocated to the ward for day duty and three for night duty every day.

With the issue of water they said the water dispenser is not used anymore at the institution as it was found to promote cross infection and patients are provided with water bottles .