Mother of dead baby did not know there was a problem at Tembisa Hospital
' I only got to know about it through the media and people on the street.
Parents of the children who died at Tembisa Hospital are in the process of taking the legal route against the Gauteng Department of Health.
The children died after contracting Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) at the hospital.
Ten children had been confirmed dead after the outbreak of this unusual virus at the public hospital at the end of last year.
One of the mothers who lost her baby, said: “At first, I didn’t know many children were affected by this thing. I only got to know about it through the media and people on the street.
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“I was personally advised by a close relative to seek legal opinion on the matter and I have already been in contact with some of the parents whose children died in the hospital.”
She told The Tembisan she was lobbying to get all the affected families on board so they could challenge the department with one voice.
“The first step I proposed we take is to approach the Gauteng Human Rights Commission and see how best they can advise or help us. Not all of the families affected by this debacle have financial muscle to hire private law firms to help them build a solid case against the hospital and the department,” she said.
The MEC for Health, Bandile Masuku, said the virus had been contained and promised that a number of health-care professionals were being deployed at nearby health-care facilities to boost the current manpower.
“We are currently managing the seven babies that are still alive and we’ve put into place systems to ensure that the outbreak doesn’t continue and that it is contained in the neonatal unit. More admissions have been diverted to Steve Biko and other surrounding units,” he said.
Not so long ago, Tembisa Hospital dominated media headlines following allegations of overcrowding at its maternity wards. Pictures of heavily pregnant women sleeping on benches and floors were leaked to the media.
The DA’s Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, Jack Bloom, has also weighed in on the matter, arguing that overcrowding and poor hygiene measures were a major problem in neonatal units in Gauteng hospitals.
“I am horrified at the deaths of the ten babies at Tembisa Hospital. This hospital is notoriously overcrowded, and the 44-bed neonatal unit often admits more than double the number of babies. We need to know why the public were not informed earlier and what accountability there will be for these deaths.
“Six babies died at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in 2018, but there had been no proper accountability for these deaths. How many more babies will die before effective measures are taken at all hospitals? The department needs to ensure that all neonatal units have enough staff and beds, with strict hygiene to prevent more klebsiella deaths,” he said.
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