BUSHBUCKRIDGE – Relatives of a 75-year-old man are spitting fire and demanding answers after their sick family member died when he was left unattended for hours at Mapulaneng Hospital.

According to the deceased’s niece,  Ms Marcia Lebambo, her terminally ill uncle, Mr Frans Lebambo, was denied access to health care at the facility.

Marcia told Mpumalanga News that they had taken him to the hospital two weeks ago but the nurses refused to treat him and told them that his weakness was because of hunger.

“We then took him to a private doctor but he fell sick again last week on Wednesday and my brother and father took him back to Mapulaneng at around 10:00,” she said.

When they got there was no one willing to attend to her uncle and they then threatened to leave him there.

“As my brother and dad were leaving, the receptionist called the security guards at the gate saying they should stop them.

Police were also called and my brother asked them how they were expected to take such a sick man back home when he was that pale.

He then asked the nurses to help them carry my uncle to the car if they were not going to treat him or borrow them a wheel chair, which they refused,” she added.

The deceased who could not even walk and had soiled himself and his brother, had to spend the whole night on the hard bench unattended.

“After my father told me what had happened, I called the CEO of the hospital and promised him that this would be the last time a patient was treated that way in the hospital.

I told him that I would follow up the case and expose the hospital to the minister and the media and I lied saying I was from the SABC.

Since then I have received three phone calls of apology from senior officials of the hospital,” Marcia added.

She said that only after she had made threats her uncle was attended too and he had to receive oxygen.

“I am spewing venom. I know that one cannot fight God’s will. But the question is, if he was attended to immediately after arriving at the hospital and not 14 hours after

I had intervened and called the hospital seniors, would I still be talking about him as late? I will not tolerate negligence or incompetence to deliberately frustrate people in public hospitals.

I wrote a well detailed report to minister of health as well as the MEC. Mapulaleng Hospital must give us answers,” she fumed.