Two paramedics who allegedly abandoned a patient in Umlazi, Durban, in KZN, have been placed under immediate precautionary suspension for investigation.

The KZN Department of Health says they will not hesitate to take the most stringent action possible against any emergency healthcare staff who deliberately fail to exercise their duties and prioritise the lives and well-being of those in need.

This follows a Facebook post that went viral about a woman seeking assistance after her older sister, who was experiencing heart problems, was allegedly abandoned by KZN ambulance personnel, who said it was not their job to carry the woman’s sister up a flight of stairs.

The Facebook post

In the Facebook post, the woman alleges that the paramedics refused to get out of the ambulance and demanded that the patient be brought up by her relatives instead.

She says she then called on her neighbours to assist her in carrying her sister up the stairs because she is heavy, when the paramedics said they were being ‘too slow’ and ‘wasting their time’, and left the scene without providing any medical attention to the woman’s sister.

The woman’s sister was eventually transported to a nearby clinic with an e-hailing taxi service and then subsequently transferred to hospital by another emergency medical services ambulance.

Department of Health

In a statement, the Department of Health says they are deeply disturbed by these allegations, as such actions are opposed to emergency care providers’ main objectives, which include conserving life, alleviating suffering, promoting health, doing no harm, and encouraging the quality and equal availability of emergency medical care services.

“We will not hesitate to take the most stringent action possible against any emergency healthcare staff who deliberately fail to discharge their duties and prioritise the life and well-being of those in need,” reads the statement.

The department adds that it is currently attending to the clinical needs of the woman who was allegedly abandoned on Sunday night, saying that the patient is currently in hospital and getting the requisite level of care.

It encourages the public to make use of its ‘Bika Sikusize’ mobile application to report any acts of impropriety so that they can be dealt with urgently.