Two more patients left to suffer at Steve Biko
Both patients were left with untreated infections for weeks.
More Steve Biko academic hospital patients have come forward to detail more frustration and hurt they suffered at the institution following recent reports in Rekord about poor service there.
Freddy Blinn and Herman Keyser said they were left unattended for weeks as their infections got worse and worse.
Keyser’s fiancée, Albertha Changfoot said he was admitted to the hospital on October 2 with a calcaneus fracture which needed immediate surgery.
“He needed the operation quite urgently, but had to wait for several weeks.
“The first week he was told that the air-conditioning was not working.
“On October 12, they said he will have the procedure done but the next morning they told him it can’t be done due to high temperatures and high risk for infection,” Albertha told Rekord.
The operation was eventually done on October 20 and he was sent home on October 23 to return on November 2.
“While at home, the wound was bleeding non-stop,” said Changfoot.
“We went back to the doctor who told us to go to a wound care nurse to vacuum the wound then return a week later.”
Keyser was booked back in hospital where he waited “all day and night” without seeing the doctors.
Instead, doctors started arguing among themselves about the severity of Keyser’s condition on November 5.
“One said Keyser was a ‘blue’ patient while the other said he was a ‘red’ patient and was supposed to have had the operation the previous day already.
“They walked out and no one returned to let him know what was going on.
“On Saturday, November 6, a doctor came in and told him not to eat or drink anything [that day] as the operation would take place that evening, but he waited all night and and no one came to fetch him.”
A frustrated Keyser phoned Albertha to ask her to come fetch him and take him to a wound doctor for care.
“I got a booking for him for Monday, November 8 at a wound clinic in Centurion.
“The nurse opened the wound and discovered that it was infected and a lot of tissue had died.
“She cleaned as much as she could, but told us he needs surgery as soon as possible.”
She said only when she got hold of the hospital CEO that she was able to arrange surgery for him on November 15.
“He had the procedure done last night, but now he has a big hole in his foot and the doctor said he now needs to see a skin specialist.
“We don’t know how long it will take and we are still waiting for a response from the doctors.
“The wound is still infected, but they have him on a drip with antibiotics,” she said.
“I’m still concerned about him and hope he will recover soon.
“I’m still on a mission regarding his care and I just feel if he had received better care at Steve Biko his foot would not have been in this condition.”
ALSO READ: Man suffers horror hospital stay before amputation
Blinn was admitted to the hospital in November with an infected toe.
According to his friend, Jaco Lombard, Blinn is diabetic and this threatens to worsen the infection.
After several weeks in hospital, Blinn was neglected by doctors, said Jaco.
“No one came to see him, no one seems to want to help him.
“The infection is so bad that the toe is rotten and you can smell it through the bandaging.”
As of Tuesday, Jaco told Rekord, Blinn had yet to receive treatment for his wound neither had the doctors put him on a drip.
Despite numerous inquiries, the hospital has yet to respond to the allegations.
ALSO READ: Another amputee suffers horror hospital stay
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
