Hospital horrors for pensioner (80)
The argument got heated and according to Mr Pepworth, 'the nurse swore at him in isiZulu and attempted to assault him'.
An 80-year-old pensioner was left reeling in pain after nurses tractioned the wrong leg at Dundee Provincial Hospital on March 2.
Myrtle Pepworth had fallen and broken her left hip and was rushed to the hospital by her son, Bryan Pepworth. Upon arrival, she was examined by a doctor and transferred to Ward B. Much to the distress of Mrs Pepworth, her horrors did not end with the broken hip as she was met with, what her son describes as a ‘rude, disinterested nurse’.
“When I arrived at the ward with my mother the nurse had a distasteful attitude and told me to leave as she cannot perform her duties,” said Mr. Pepworth.
Intrigued by the request, he questioned the reasons as to why he must go. To this, the nurse vented her frustration and allegedly threw the drip on the bed claiming ‘this is the doctors job, I must do the doctors work.’
Mr Pepworth alleged that her rudeness persisted so he opted to call the doctor to report her. The nurse responded to his threat by urging him to call. “Call the doctor, call the doctor,” the nurse exclaimed.
After a while Mr Pepworth left. A little later his wife urged him to go back to the hospital to ‘make sure everything was in order.’
To his horror, everything was far from orderly as he noticed the traction was put on the right leg instead of the broken left leg.
Infuriated he went to the Matron to report the issue. The Matron attended to the complaint and confirmed that the traction was in fact on the wrong leg.
“I was very upset and voiced my displeasure and as a result an argument ensued,” Mr. Pepworth explained. The argument got heated and according to Mr Pepworth, ‘the nurse swore at him in isiZulu and attempted to assault him’. However, the Matron foiled the attack and separated the two.
The traction was removed and placed on the correct leg. Mrs Pepworth was later taken to La Verna Hospital in Ladysmith. She has since undergone surgery.
The hospital was contacted for comment and Public Relations Officer, Sbonelo Dube, told the Courier, that ‘an investigation will be conducted into the matter’.
