Life-support ‘switch-off’ shock

Shonisani Lethole, a patient who was not fed for more than 100 hours, is not the first person to suffer at the hands of Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital staff.

On 8 December a Tembisa hospital doctor allegedly switched off the life-support machine which was keeping Lloyd Kacheche, 42, alive, without his family’s consent.

Jane Sichali, Kacheche’s sister, said the family cannot eat or sleep knowing a doctor switched off the ventilators connected to her brother.

“His children are very bitter. We cannot sleep, we cannot eat, this thing is disturbing us,” Sichali said.

On Wednesday, professor Malegapuru Makgoba briefed the media following an investigation into the death of Lethole, whose body was found in rigor mortis days after he tweeted a plea for assistance to Health Minister Dr Zweli
Mkhize regarding the conditions at the hospital.

Makgoba confirmed Lethole was not given food for more than 100 hours, of which 43 hours and 24 minutes were reported in the first incident, and later 57 hours and 30 minutes until he passed away on 29 June.

Sichali said her brother was admitted to Tembisa hospital at the beginning of December because he was feeling ill and had trouble breathing.

ALSO READ: Shonisani Lethole’s severe Covid-19 infection worsened by negligence, says heath ombud

“He was asthmatic and first put in a Covid-19 ward. After three days he was moved to an intensive care unit and put onto a ventilator.”

At this point, one of the doctors treating Kacheche said he wasn’t doing well and that they wouldn’t waste treatment on him any longer, according to Sichali.

“At this time I didn’t know what to say. She said I can sue her, she is insured and we will have to pay back all the money the hospital has wasted on him.”

Sichali said she was told her brother had problems with his brain, liver and kidneys. “At no point did they say he had Covid-19.”

Sichali added that a doctor allegedly said they were going to give Kacheche cheaper medical treatment.

Sichali went home to find her brother affordable medical care as he had begged her to move him because of alleged ill-treatment by staff.

When Sichali phoned the hospital the next day about transferring him, the nurses said it would not be possible.

“When they phoned us two hours later to come to the hospital, we thought we could move him.

“The next thing they were talking about my brother’s illness in the past tense. I was so upset when I asked and they told me he had passed away. I am broken.”

Sichali said she felt that the staff had already given up on her brother the previous day.

“I feel like I let him down. He was begging me to take him out of there. Now, I believe all the bad stories about the state hospitals. I have lost complete faith in the health system.”

Kacheche had complained the nurses allegedly shouted at the patients and were very harsh.

Sichali said the last straw was that the hospital even misspelled her brother’s name as “Floyd”.

“So when we call, we would mention that name, Floyd. It was quicker for them to locate him.”

Kacheche leaves two children, one aged 19 and the other 21.

READ MORE: ‘Neglected’ Shonisani Lethole’s body was found in ‘rigor-mortis’ stage – health ombud

On Wednesday, The Citizen asked Makgoba if he was aware of Kacheche’s death at Tembisa hospital in December.

“My investigation was focused on the complaint received from the minister. “I did not go look if there were
rats or mosquitoes in the hospital,” Makgoba answered.

“We focused on the questions from the minister and family, not to look for every other thing in the hospital.”

The Citizen sent the department of health an inquiry about Kacheche’s death on 17 January, but no comment has been received to date.

The circumstances under which Kacheche’s life-support equipment was switched off are, therefore, not yet known.

Health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said an inquiry was raised again with Tembisa hospital.

When Makgoba was asked if Lethole died due to negligence, he said the healthcare system was made up of infrastructure, policies, and people.

“Our policies are very good. Our infrastructure I would categorise as medium. Our biggest elephant in the room is, however, the people in the healthcare system.”

Makgoba said substandard service by some healthcare workers was a serious problem and it needed to be addressed.

“We need to create a new culture for training medical staff.”

– marizkac@citizen.co.za

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