LETTERS: Nasty experience at hospital

On August 10, I had surgery at Alberlito Hospital and stayed over one night. During that time I have never been so poorly treated in any hospital.
I arrived and was booked in downstairs at reception then taken up to the day ward where the doctor and the anaesthetist were to visit me. The anaesthetist gave instructions to the male nurse who was checking me in to give me a premed before surgery.
I waited nearly 45 mins before I had to ask him to give the medicine so it would take effect before I went into surgery. He told me he was busy writing out a report so I insisted that he give me the medicine straight away. He came back with the tablet, no water and a long face. Not long after that I got a theatre gown that was torn around the neck and bloodstained.
After surgery, I was brought back to the maternity ward where I bled so badly that when my husband came to see me at visiting hours I was vomiting blood and the staff were standing around not knowing what to do.
My husband asked the staff nurse to call the surgeon who had operated on me, Dr Du Toit, as he had not seen me after the operation. She did but was confusing me with another patient. If my husband had not been there, someone else would have got the medication I was meant to have. At around 10 pm that evening I was still asking for pain medicine after asking the staff many times. I was not given anything to eat until the next morning when a very cold and badly prepared, greasy breakfast arrived. I just could not stomach the food.
I have never been so scared being in a hospital with inexperienced staff before. The level of staff being employed at Alberlito hospital has dropped drastically since I was there some years ago.
What has prompted me to write this letter is that on September 19, I went to Victoria Hospital as a day patient and was treated very well. I felt that the staff were professional about every aspect of my stay there.
Something needs to be done to keep Alberlito hospital in line with other hospitals. I will never go back again for fear that my life will be in danger.
C. A MCKEE
Ballito
Alberlito General Manager Sara Nayager responds:
We were very sorry to hear of the complaints raised in Mrs McKee’s letter and apologise sincerely for failing to meet her expectations.
We are at present trying to establish contact with Mrs McKee in order to have personal discussions with her regarding the concerns that she had raised in her letter, as we were unfortunately never made aware of any these concerns during or after Mrs McKee’s hospital stay.
We are committed to providing the best possible care to our patients. We actively encourage all our patients to provide us with feedback, as this enables us to identify any shortfalls in our care and take prompt action to address their concerns or complaints, so that we can improve service and enhance our patients’ hospital experience.
We encourage patients and their loved ones to engage with us at any time if they have any special requests, queries or complaints, so that we can engage with them personally and promptly look into their concerns or complaints.
There are comprehensive feedback mechanisms in place within the hospital to encourage feedback from our patients.
In addition to the nursing rounds, Netcare Alberlito is committed to daily patient visits by a management representative and the unit manager, which may at times be delayed if patients are resting or undergoing tests or treatment.
We also make use of sophisticated multimodal technology solutions (iPads) to capture patient feedback and facilitate interaction with them. In addition, we have email patient feedback mechanisms in place for patients who would rather bring their concerns to our attention after leaving the hospital.
As hospital management, we apologise unreservedly for the lapses in quality care experienced by Mrs McKee. We have only the best interests of our patients at heart and are committed to caring for them with compassion, dignity, respect and appreciation.