Alleged mistreatment of wife at Barberton Hospital leaves husband fuming
Her lengthy stay, said Boet, was due to the unavailability of hospital beds at Rob Ferreira, which has caused her condition to deteriorate to the extent that she has developed bed sores.
The past 75 days have been filled with uncertainty for Boet (71) and Annette Woest (77), since Annette’s hospitalisation after a fall in which she fractured a hip.
According to Boet, his wife was admitted to Barberton Hospital and has spent more than two months waiting to be transferred to Rob Ferreira Hospital where she was due to have a hip operation.
Her lengthy stay, said Boet, was due to the unavailability of hospital beds at Rob Ferreira, which has caused her condition to deteriorate to the extent that she has developed bed sores.
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The frustrated septuagenarian alleged that the treatment his wife suffered at the hands of Barberton nursing staff, led to Annette demanding to be discharged from hospital.
“Elderly patients are not treated well at the hospital at all. Each time I visited my wife, she complained that the nursing staff were callous and did not treat her well.
“After she developed bed sores, they worked very roughly with her and she alleged that elderly patients were frequently taunted by two nurses in particular,” said Boet.
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The greatest issue, he said, was that Rob Ferreira Hospital has no beds available, but younger patients who had been admitted after Annette, were transported there for treatment.
His frustration has reached the point where he is considering legal action.
“I want this matter to be heard in court and fully intend suing,” he added.
For Boet, the horrendous service he claimed to have experienced at Barberton Hospital extends to the security guards who man the gates and control access to the facility.
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“On a number of occasions I have been instructed to park outside the hospital and when Annette was admitted I was told that we needed to walk to the ward she was admitted to.
“I explained that she had a fractured hip and was unable to walk and after much wrangling, they instructed me to collect a wheelchair that I had to push her to the ward.”
Lowvelder submitted an enquiry to the Mpumalanga Department of Health spokesperson, Dumisane Malamule, but no response was forthcoming at the time of going to press.
