Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital has found itself in a he-said-she-said debacle after Nomzamo Bona claimed allegations of mistreatment following being admitted earlier this month, October.
Bona, 56, from Luzuko Park, in Philippi told IOL that the nurses did not want to touch her because she “was stinking.”
According to former in-patient, her body has been expanding at a rapid rate, leaving her incapacitated and bedridden. The cause of the extreme swelling is unknown, but she does know that she has diabetes and high blood pressure.
Bona is suffering — a point she made clear in her interview with Sisonke Mlamla. A water-like substance excretes from her body and she can no longer walk. Unable to wash herself or move, she told her story from a wet mattress set in her dining room.
After suffering a fall, she was admitted to Groote Schuur on September 22. It is here that she was said to be mistreated and discharged before she felt ready.
“They said I was stinking. I even asked a black nurse why she was treating another black woman like that. I told them I have rights too. But I was ignored. I was left traumatised,” she said to Mlamla.
Groote Schuur Hospital spokesperson Alaric Jacobs confirmed that Bona was indeed admitted, however denied allegations of maltreatment.
According to Jacobs, Bona was treated like every other patient. During her time at the hospital, Bona was said to be cared for with physical examinations by doctors, fed regular meals and even had access to a psychiatrist “to assist her with any of her needs”.
Jacobs added that community services were also arranged to do three visits to her house per week. However, according to Bona, “no one from the hospital visited” after she was discharged. “Paramedics left me in the dining room, claiming it was not their duty to put me in my bedroom,” she added.
As per Section 27 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to have access to health care services and that no person may be refused emergency treatment.
ANC provincial Health spokesperson Rachel Windvogel said she was saddened by the story, adding that this “is not the first time that allegations of poor treatment of patients and negligence have been reported against public health facilities in the Western Cape.”
Windvogel concluded by stating that she will be launching an urgent investigation into this matter.
Picture: Ayanda Ndamane, African News Agency
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