Kalafong provincial tertiary hospital has recently come into the spotlight for negative reasons. The hospital recorded more than 1 000 cases of unintentional harm against patients not as a result of pre-existing conditions and is accused of unsanitary conditions and staff recruitment favouritism among others, something Kalafong management vehemently denies.

Highest SAEs in Gauteng

Gauteng health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi announced last month that the Atteridgeville-based medical facility ranked highest in the province for severe adverse events (SAEs) cases.

SAEs cover unintentional harm inflicted on a patient not as a result of a pre-existing condition and Kalafong recorded 1 015 of them in 2021.

The department has since released a statement clarifying what they assert to be a ‘sensationalist media statement’ released by the DA shadow MEC for health Jack Bloom.

The health department’s findings blame the hospitals’ high number of patient safety incidents (PSI) among other reasons, as the leading cause for Kalafong’s and other hospitals’ high SAE rates.

These PSIs are an ‘event or circumstance that could have resulted or did result in harm to a patient as a result of the healthcare services provided, and not due to the underlying health conditions’ yet they are said to not always necessarily reflect negligence.

In addition to the significant number of SAE cases, confidential sources have come forward to accuse the hospital’s CEO, Dr Sello Matjila of being a key figure in the hospital’s recent poor performance.

Claims against hospital CEO and management

The anonymous sources claim that under Matijila’s management, a bulk of the original managerial staff have been forced out, dismissed or resigned since his appointment in 2019.

Staff members are reported to have also endured a toxic work environment rife with intimidation and defective supplies.

The hospital is accused of providing unsanitary linen stained with bodily fluids to patients, favouritism in staff recruitment, inefficient medical cleaning equipment, non-functional machines, poor infection control in the maternity ward, special dietary needs not being met and using expired materials to treat patients among others.

Management denies allegations

Matijila has since sternly denied the allegations against himself and the hospital, stating the small number of staff and partners dissatisfied with the running of the hospital do not represent the majority.

“It’s normal when you are working with over 2 500 people in one hospital, that there are bound to be some groups that are not happy with the way you are doing things,” Matjila said.

Matjila argued against the notion that Kalafong hospital being a facility of incompetence and malpractice but rather asserted that its medical practitioners and staff are determined to provide the best care with what they have to the residents of Atteridgeville and surrounding communities.

Matjila states that the hospital has various committees that ensure the smooth running of the hospital which also addresses each of the allegations:

– employee equity committee: relatively recent and tasked with finding suitable candidates for positions at the hospital.
– equipment committee: meets regularly to check on the quality and shortage of equipment in certain wards and to prioritise which sections need what.
– infection prevention control committee: ensures that infections around the hospital are identified and swiftly dealt with.

The CEO states linen and bedding are washed at Masakhane provincial laundry that does washing for numerous hospitals and clinics and if that service is unavailable, inhouse janitorial staff are willing to work overnight.

The hospital states the listed allegations are old and used to undermine the parties in charge.

“It’s a pity that you get those people that can’t accept change and don’t want to work with us. Even though the majority of the hospital is working together quite harmoniously, they are still those who wish to destabilise things for their own benefit.”

Kalafong risk manager, Albert Dikgale asserts that no over-the-counter supplies have ever been used to clean the hospital’s medical equipment, as suggested.

“We go through audits so all the disinfectants and other cleaning supplies are all recorded. Using store-bought cleaners would create huge problems for us, why would we ever risk that?”

Patients unhappy

But some patients expressed dissatisfaction with Kalafong systems.

“The queues are far too long, and God help you if there’s load-shedding then they say the system is down or it’s crashed. They need to change their system, it’s too slow,” said Lucky Mthetwa (33).

Sharing similar sentiments was a 24-year-old man accompanying his grandmother in her late 70s, who required a walker to get to the hospital for treatment for her various ailments.

“I tried to come earlier to get an appointment for her so we could beat the queues, then they tell me she needs to be here to get her a file. The whole file system is frustrating, I’ve had to make trips back and forth, and we still have to wait in these long lines,” said Khutlhuwano Bryan.

“Some of the staff have forgotten the oath they took. Most are alright, but some are very rude and treat you like they’re doing you a favour. The place is unhygienic as well, if management doesn’t want to manage, why are they earning a salary?” Mr V. Morgan (54) said.

To counter the long queues and outdated systems Kalafong communications officer, Hlegani Makhuvele stated the hospital has begun integrating patient information into a digital database known as Health Information Systems (HIS).

“This departmental approach seeks to improve patient data storage. Moving away from paper to digital will cut the queues drastically, and the integrated information will assist patients from a clinic or hospital level. Similarly to how you use an ATM of an institution you don’t bank with,” said Makhuvele.

The regional chair of the Democratic Nursing Organisation (Denosa), Richard Banda confirmed to Rekord that they are aware of the allegations and are working with the department in further investigative processes.

“While I admit we have problems, no government hospital doesn’t, we are doing the best with what we have and we can always assure residents their best interests are at heart and we will always care,” Matijla concluded.