Availability of specialist care cannot be ensured in the Lowveld

MBOMBELA – On December 19, Lowvelder reported that Kim Kerswill had been in a gruesome motor vehicle accident on her way back home from a party she had attended with friends.

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She was rushed to Mediclinic Nelspruit in a critical condition, with multiple head and other injuries, but was soon transported to Milpark in Johannesburg for specialised treatment, as the neurologist on call that fateful night did not answer his phone, according to Johnny Kerswill, Kim’s father.

“I asked the staff at Mediclinic persistently about the whereabouts of the neurologist, but they could not reach him on his phone,” Kerswill said.

Baard could give the newspaper no confirmation that a specialists’ meeting had been held at Mediclinic Nelspruit to discuss contingency plans on the continuity of service after hours, apart from stating: “We have regular meetings with our doctors. The content of these meetings is confidential, as is the norm in most businesses.”

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Complaints stretching back as far as 2018 indicated a general lack of specialised emergency care at the hospital, where patients had to be transported to other medical facilities under arduous circumstances.

Mbombela businessman, Kerneels Kruger, had badly broken his C7-T1 vertebrae in a plane crash.

Kruger was treated at Mediclinic Nelspruit, but the hospital did not want to admit him due to no neurologists being available.

“It is true that we did not receive much assistance from the hospital; we therefore phoned our family doctor, who tried to get hold of some of the other Mediclinic doctors,” Corne his wife said.

The newspaper was placed in possession of an ER24 report that was completed by a medical official and read as follows: “I spoke to the doctor and he said that the patient had to go to Milpark tonight. I told the casualty doctor that I was not happy taking a patient with an unstable C7-T1 fracture with pressure on the spinal cord by road. If we hit a pothole or bump, it can transect the cord. I updated the family and doctor that this patient should be in the ICU for the night and then go by helicopter in the morning.”

“The ER24 report indicated that no doctor was willing to give a proper handover of Kerneels;  when the paramedics arrived to transport him to Milpark hospital,” Corne said.

In a statement, the national Corporate Communication Manager for MediClinic, stated that MediClinic Nelspruit works in close consultation with ER Consulting, an independent emergency centre practice at the hospital, in order to deliver the most appropriate care for patients.

The doctors practicing within the emergency centre are employed by ER Consulting and not MediClinic and therefore we are unable to provide detailed input on the clinical decisions made by these specialists,” Tertia Kruger said.

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Mpumalanga health spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, did not comment at all on questions by the newspaper on the number and availability of neurologists and cardiologists at public hospitals after hours and on public holidays, in the Mbombela region.

However, Steven Mashishi, the General Manager at Kiaat Private Hospital confirmed that they have two neurologists, with at least one always on call, on public holidays and after hours. “As a hospital we unfortunately do not cater for cardiology patients and refer them to an appropriate medical facility within and outside the province.”