There’s no excuse for Sichelesile Dube’s death

While there is no denying that healthcare workers in our country are under huge pressure – physically and emotionally – because of this awful pandemic, the death of 26-year-old Sichelesile Dube at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg leaves worrying questions.

Those are questions not only about competence of the medical staff on duty at the hospital, but also about their compassion and commitment to their vocation.

Dube was taken to the hospital in a critical condition by her mother, Nqobile, who left her in a waiting area after seeking help from hospital staff.

When Nqobile returned the next day, she found her daughter, sitting in the same wheelchair and in the same place she had left her. She was dead and her eyes were still open.

The Gauteng department of health says it will investigate – and perhaps the truth will be discovered. However, there are many stories of neglect and abuse in provincial medical facilities – from even the time before Covid.

The government health system in this province needs to take a long, hard look at itself and perhaps reacquaint its staff with the tenets of the Hippocratic

Oath of medical ethics, including its strong injunction: “First, do no harm…”