Mother accuses Mpumalanga hospital of sabotage in medical negligence case

A Mpumalanga woman, whose child suffered brain damage due to a nurse’s alleged negligence, is accusing the institution of refusing to release medical records to sabotage the investigation.

Nokuthula Mkhabela from Pienaar outside Mbombela said the management of Rob Ferreira Hospital and the doctor who attended to her child refused to give her and her lawyers the child’s file.

Mkhabela said she started demanding the medical records in 2019, when launching a medical negligence case against the institution.

Lawyers drop Mkhabela’s case

“The reason I decided to go to the media now is because my lawyers and I have tried in vain to get the information.

“Every time we went there we were told the file has been misplaced. Two legal representatives have withdrawn, saying they cannot represent me since we are failing to get the medical record.

“To show that the Department of Health and the management of the hospital are sabotaging my case – early this month I received an e-mail from my lawyers notifying me they would no longer represent me as the health department had offered them money to represent them against me.

“They then referred me to another law firm, which also dumped my case, saying they couldn’t assist me with the medical records.”

She said the lawyer withdrew just a few days before the matter could be heard in the Mpumalanga High Court.

A medical emergency with devastating consequences

Mkhabela said her baby, Anathi, was healthy until the incident that left her unable to speak and wheelchair-bound. In July 2015, the child had diarrhoea and was rushed to hospital, she said.

They waited for hours and later, when the child had more complications, they were taken to intensive care.

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“After a few hours I went inside and found there was a drip connected to her head. They told me that they could not locate the veins on the legs or hands, that’s why they opted for the head. At the time she looked okay.

“We spoke but after some minutes the child was unable to speak and they removed the drip and connected it to her hand. When I asked the doctor, I was told that water had entered the brain.”

She said the child was taken to a private hospital in Mbombela where doctors tried to drain the water from her head but it did not help.

‘R100 000 debt’

“Now we are in R100 000 debt. I need the department to be held accountable and compensate my daughter for the damage they have caused.”

The Citizen has seen a letter a law firm sent to Mkhabela informing her that they were now representing the department against her.

Department spokesperson Dumisane Malamule refused to comment, saying the matter was in court.

‘We are being sabotaged’

Tony Mathe, a lawyer from Marweshe Attorneys, has also accused the department of sabotaging investigations into medical negligence.

“We have been waiting for medical records from the department. It appears they are deliberately avoiding compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act application we did on behalf of our clients.

“It appears we are being sabotaged so we don’t proceed with lawsuits against the department.”

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