Rob Ferreira Hospital is facing serious allegations of mistreatment, with numerous patients and their families stepping forward to voice their grievances.

This wave of allegations follows an exposé by Lowvelder about troubling experiences at the facility.

An elderly man, whose family was allegedly told by the doctors that it would take several weeks for him to be operated on, was eventually operated on on Monday, January 20, thanks to Lowvelder’s coverage.

Jakobus Schutte (75) was admitted to the hospital after he had fallen down the stairs in his daughter, Yolanda Geldenhuys’ house on January 4.

Geldenhuys told Lowvelder she was concerned when the hospital officials told her her father could not be operated on because the theatre was not functional.

“They said this was because of high temperatures due to the air conditioners not working.”

ALSO READ: Lift with 13 people in Rob Ferreira Hospital fails, plunges into basement

She claimed a doctor told her it might take many weeks for her father to receive surgery because, even if the theatre became operational, other patients were lining in the queue, too.

The provincial health department’s spokesperson, Chris Nobela, dismissed allegations that the theatres were non-operational and insisted that the air conditioners were functional and the temperatures were within normal limits.

“The orthopaedic theatre operates every day, and we conduct orthopaedic marathons from time to time to clear the backlog. The last was in December, in preparation for the festive season. We have a high number of patients admitted during the festive season, but we are operating on a daily basis,” Nobela said.

Lowvelder visited Rob Ferreira on Monday and spoke to a patient who introduced himself as Sipho Shirinda (62) from Msholozi.

He said he was admitted to the hospital on October 28 and was still awaiting the day he gets taken to the theatre for an operation.

ALSO READ: Three families claim Rob Ferreira Hospital is filthy and in disrepair

“I was riding my bicycle when a car dragged me down to the ground, and I broke my right leg. I was admitted to Rob last year, but I have not been operated on to this day. We are told the operating rooms are not functioning and that it would take weeks, if not months, for me to be operated on,” said Shirinda, who freely displayed his injured leg on his bed in Ward 6.

Geldenhuys further accused the hospital of being filthy, and that the emergency room had broken windowpanes.
She said many patients with broken limbs were only given pain killers, but were kept in the dark about their operation dates, “What is giving us some hope, though, is that the personnel are doing the best with what they have,” she said.

Geldenhuys’s hope was echoed by her mother, Johanna Schutte, who was at the hospital on Monday to see her husband.

“My observation is that the doctors and nurses who are working in this hospital try their best. We really cannot blame them under the circumstances,” she told Lowvelder.

Johanna said she was relieved that her husband was finally being operated on less than 20 days after his admission.

More complaints

Felani Mtungwa (76) from Matsulu’s family also had complaints against the hospital. Her sister, Moko Nthali, said she found used syringes left unattended on Mtungwa’s bed. “Over and above that, there were bloodstains everywhere, and my sister had not been bathed for some time,” said Nthali.

Meanwhile, when Lowvelder confronted him with the readers’ comments that supported the existing allegations against the hospital, one such suggesting mistreatment at the hospital, another departmental spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, commented: “There is no mistreatment at the hospital. The hospital adheres to stringent cleanliness protocols. While certain areas pose challenges, we are proactively developing and implementing improvement measures.”

Another commentator accused nurses of ignoring patients to chat to one another instead. “Nurses are permitted to communicate with one another and hand over reports from time to time,” explained Malamule.

He confirmed the hospital toilets were sometimes dirty as they were used by many people, but insisted that they were regularly cleaned.

In Shirinda’s case, the department said he might go to theatre by today, Friday January 24. “His condition was not stable – he had other medical conditions that needed to be stabilised. If all go as planned, he will go to theatre on Friday,” said Malamule.