MBOMBELA – A 76-year-old patient, Mr Tom Kriek, who was admitted to Rob Ferreira Hospital three weeks ago, is still waiting to be operated on.
Although he requires orthopaedic surgery and the Department of Health has admitted to a waiting list of up to 2 300 patients, (see story here) it insists that Kriek is not being operated on because he wasn’t “fit” for surgery.
Kriek recently had a stroke and as a result the one side of his body was left completely paralysed. He suffered a fractured hip and had to undergo surgery to repair the damage.
According to his son, Mr Paul Kriek, the hospital had all kinds of excuses as to why the operation could not be performed, one of them being a lack of clean linen.
Mr Dumisane Malamule, spokesman for health, denies this, saying that there were more than enough clean linen for all their patients.
Paul and his mother Mariam apparently tried to make contact with acting CEO of Rob Ferreira Hospital, Dr Gladyce Koete to bring the situation under her attention as a last resort, but apparently she had refused to see them.
One of their main concerns was that Kriek had already developed bedsores – one on his toe and one on his buttocks. His paralysis was contributing to these sores as underlying tissue was trapped between the bone and the bed. Basically, no nutrients reached his skin, and without that, skin cells and tissue were damaged and might eventually die. Also as a result of his paralysis, he had to rely on adult diapers. His son said some of the medication caused diarrhoea due to his sugar levels, and when it was time to change his diapers, some nursing staff failed to do so. A nurse apparently told Kriek to defecate in the bed, and that they would clean it up afterwards.
Both Kriek and his wife are pensioners, and each has to make a living with R1 300 per month. They cannot afford medical aid and have to rely on Rob Ferreira for medical care. Paul adds that although they feel that their relative is being mistreated, the doctors say they operate on commands, thus their hands are tied.
Malamule said the situation started when the patient and his family were not properly briefed before Kriek was admitted. “Doctors had to assess and make a full diagnosis before an operation could be performed. Kriek’s examination showed that an undisclosed complication prevented the doctors from operating, thus he was not yet stable for an operation. However, he is responding very well to the medication.
Management intervened and found that there was no sign of neglect which was also confirmed by the patient. But none of the above was mentioned to the family before Thursday.”
On Thursday, management paid a visit to the family and properly briefed them. They were told that as soon as Kriek was fit for an operation, the procedure would be performed but the exact time could not be given. “After the brief, the family was happy.”
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