ANGRY protesters have given the Wentworth Hospital an ultimatum of 48 hours to respond to their list of grievances regarding the malfunctioning of the health facility.

Over 200 protesters marched to the hospital on October 1 and demanded that the hospital’s management respond to their concerns about alleged negligence and overcrowding at the hospital.

Emotions flared as security guards and the police prevented marchers from marching inside the Wentworth Hospital. The marchers wanted to gain entry and march peacefully on the hospital premises.

Also read: Chaos unfolds at Wentworth Hospital

Residents from The Bluff, Wentworth, Merebank and surroundings gathered at the Austerville Community Hall and marched to the health facility. With some carrying placards displaying messages of dissatisfaction, the marchers demanded that the management of the Wentworth Hospital put strategic plans in place to fix the deep-seated problem hindering the functioning of this health facility.

Residents air their views on alleged negligence of the hospital

A resident, Debbie Henegan, lost her husband years ago due to alleged negligence at the hospital.

“I am marching because our rights as citizens have been violated by the Wentworth Hospital. Many people have died in the care of this hospital. I am one of the long-standing residents of the Wentworth community. There is a lot of unfairness and overcrowding at this health facility.

“When we complain, the management seems to turn a blind eye to our concerns. I am speaking as a living testimony of my late husband. He was treated for 15 years for an illness he never had; he was referred to five government hospitals. Not even one hospital picked up the illness he died of. We are calling for fair treatment.

Also read: Wentworth Hospital in the spotlight for poor conditions

“We are hoping the march is going to resolve the problems because a memorandum has been sent to the management of the hospital,” said Henegan.

Another resident, Shane Henegan, said he lost his mother due to the alleged negligence of the hospital.

“The nurses are arrogant. The hospital clerks are always losing medical files for patients. A patient who visits the hospital every month has to open a new file. What are they doing with our files? At an emergency ward, doctors are doing nothing other than chatting on their cellphones.

“My mother died in this hospital. She was suffering from asthma. All they had to do was to nebulise her and send her home. However, the hospital decided to keep her for no apparent reason until she died,” said Henegan.

The CEO of the Wentworth Hospital, Tiny Khanyile, and other management members signed and accepted the memorandum.

Complaints gathered by the SUN highlight several key problems, including alleged negligence of critically ill walk-in patients by staff members and painfully slow-moving queues.

Many patients have described distressing experiences where they felt neglected and inadequately cared for, particularly those arriving in urgent need of medical attention. Long wait times, with some patients waiting for hours to be seen, have further exacerbated the situation.

In response to these growing concerns, community leaders and advocacy groups are calling for a thorough investigation into the hospital’s operations and management practices. They argue that the issues reflect a broader problem of inadequate oversight and poor service delivery.

The complaints raised stem from the residents’ dissatisfaction with the service they receive upon visiting the healthcare centre.

For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.