Rob Ferreira Hospital failing its patients

The pressure is mounting and more and more patients who claim they have been ill-treated, are coming to the fore to express their discontent with Rob Ferreira Hospital.

Among the numerous complaints received by Lowvelder, however, there seems to be some light at the end of one patient’s dark tunnel.

Barely 12 hours after the paper had last week reported about the life-and-death struggle of Elsie du Plessis of White River due to breast cancer and alleged misdiagnosis at Rob, she was admitted to Steve Biko Hospital in Gauteng.

Du Plessis had a mastectomy at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town after she had been diagnosed with phyllodes cancer in 2020.  In April last year she relocated to the Lowveld.

Seven months ago she discovered yet another small tumour of about two centimetres in her right breast. She visited Rob Ferreira Hospital for treatment.

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The tumour was getting bigger by the day. She said the doctors had originally said that it was not a cancerous growth, but a fluid build-up in her breast. Earlier this year, she was eventually taken into the theatre to have the fluid drained. At the time, the tumour was about 40 centimetres in size.  Du Plessis said that when she woke up, she was told they could not continue with the operation as they had found that it was indeed a tumour and not a build-up of fluid.

The wound in her chest was closed with 12 stitches.  She was sent home with dressings and medication, and was told she must return when results of the biopsy had been received back from Steve Biko Hospital.

She said she pleaded with Rob Ferreira to start chemo treatment at its oncology department.

They refused, however, because they did not have the results back yet. The wound got infected and within a few days, developed into an 30-centimetre-large, oozing ulcer.

Last week she reported the matter to the Office of the Health Ombud (OHO). It immediately launched an urgent investigation into the treatment at the hospital. On Thursday night, she was informed by the OHO that she had to report to Rob Ferreira early on Friday morning. She was transferred to Steve Biko for immediate treatment.

“If it wasn’t for its involvement, I would still be stuck with the horrible treatment at Rob Ferreira,” she told the paper from her hospital bed in Steve Biko.  They started treatment on her wound and are currently considering the best option to continue with radiation treatment.

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A fundraising project was launched so Du Plessis could go for private medical care and cancer treatment. The link to the project is https://www.backabuddy.co.za/elsie-du-plessis.

After Du Plessis’ plight was brought to the attention of the Mpumalanga Department of Health last week, it said an investigation would be launched into the way she was treated.

“If any wrongdoing or evidence of any mistreatment is discovered by any of the medical personnel, action will be taken against them,” Dumisani Malamule, the department’s spokesperson, said.

Numerous complaints about bad treatment of cancer patients at Rob Ferreira Hospital was brought to the attention of Lowvelder the past week.

Here are some:

Elizabeth du Plessis A 72-year-old pensioner, Elizabeth du Plessis, experienced similar bad treatment at Rob Ferreira Hospital after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Her right breast has over the past two years developed from a small lump to a rotting ulcer that covers her whole breast.  “She has been walking a path with Rob Ferreira for 22 months now and things are only getting worse,” said Du Plessis’ daughter, Sandra.

“In the 22 months since she has been diagnosed with cancer, her eyes are also getting weaker and weaker and she has cataracts in both eyes. She is on a waiting list at Rob Ferreira Hospital, but nothing comes of it.

“My mother felt a lump in her breast in October 2020. She had an appointment at Rob Ferreira Hospital for a mammogram on November 25 that year. When she went for it, she was informed that the machine was not working and the appointment was moved to December.”

During her December 11 visit, she was again told that the machine was still not working, and the appointment was moved again to January 11, 2021. The lump in her breast was now ten centimetres. In January, once again, she was informed the mammogram machine was still not working.

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On February 9, 2021, she visited the hospital, but the mammogram machine was still out of order. She eventually had the mammogram done in March.

“She received the bad news on April 20, 2021, that she had cancer. She was booked for an operation in May, only to be told that she first had to go for a CT scan to establish if the cancer had spread,” Sandra said.

The scan was done in April and she was told to return in August 2021. “On August 24, she was told that the cancer had spread to her liver, lungs, spinal cord, kidneys and pelvis. She was then told that due to her age and her immune system, she could not receive chemo treatment.”

Elizabeth said that at the end of November, they noticed that her right breast began to turn purple. She said she had visited the hospital on December 10, but the doctors just looked at it and she was sent home.

She once again visited the hospital in January 2022, when her breast started getting worse. “Again, nothing had been said or done.”  Shortly afterwards, the breast burst open and an ugly, oozing wound developed.

She was given antibiotics.  In March, she was told that an email would be sent to Steve Biko Hospital to book her for radiation. Sandra said her mother must be at Steve Biko on April 4.

“I’m furious, because my mother’s life stood still for nine months at Rob Ferreira Hospital. In that period, they could have referred her to Steve Biko to assist. But everyone just shrugs their shoulders,” Sandra said.

The OHO confirmed with her that it had also launched an investigation against Rob Ferreira Hospital.

Khethiwe Matsaba Khethiwe Matsaba (48) has been working for Chantelle Kent as a domestic worker and au pair for her children for more than 10 years.

During October 2020, Matsaba discovered a small lump in her left breast. She went to Rob Ferreira Hospital for treatment, but was turned away because she resides in Pienaar, Kent told Lowvelder.

She went to Themba Hospital in KaBokweni, and after being examined, the doctor told her that they could not find anything wrong with her.

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“A year later, in October 2021, I noticed that she was getting extremely thin, and saw that her breast was heavily swollen,” said Kent.

It was only then discovered that her breast had swollen to such an extent that the skin had burst open.

“Stinking puss was coming out of the wound. I took her to CANSA, who then referred her to Rob Ferreira. During a biopsy, it was established that Matsaba did indeed have breast cancer.

“She told me the doctors started chemo treatment during November last year. But she was also told by the doctors that she was very sick and that she was going to die!” Kent said.

By the end of January 2022, Matsaba was so ill that she could not work anymore. She and her two children moved in with a family member. “I last saw her two weeks ago when we assisted her to apply for disability pension at Sassa. We had to rent her a wheelchair because she could not walk anymore.” Since then, Kent could not track Matsaba down, as she was not answering her phone.

“I am extremely worried about her. We don’t know where her family lives. She might even have died,” and emotional Kent said.

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