No proof mom turned away from hospital
Inaccurate reports of DRC woman besmirched SA health care
THERE was no evidence that foreign nationals were being turned away at South African hospitals, said Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi yesterday. In fact, said the minister, many hospitals reported that more than 50% of babies delivered at their institutions were to foreigners. Briefing Parliament’s portfolio committee on health, Motsoaledi said he was perturbed by inaccurate reports that a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo gave birth at Park Town Station in Johannesburg because she had been turned away from a number of hospitals in Gauteng.
Motsoaledi said from investigations, it had established that heavily pregnant Francine Kalala did not arrive at the Tshwane District Hospital at 2am and wait for hours to get help. CCTV footage showed she arrived at 5.15pm and left at 5.55pm. Reports that the woman then drove to the Steve Biko Hospital were also untrue as footage showed she had never entered the hospital’s gates. She was taken to the Charlotte Maxeke hospital after she gave birth.
Motsoaledi said claims she was again refused admission were wrong. He said she had been admitted and examined by a midwife, while her baby was “put in warmer”. The woman was observed for six hours, as is the norm, and was then directed to the Hillbrow hospital for further care.
A clearly perturbed Motsoaledi told MPs the woman’s claims and the inaccurate article, written by an intern from the US, were meant to inflict “maximum reputational damage” to South Africa’s health care system. “The overwhelming understanding of the public was that the health care system in South Africa is so evil and xenophobic that a woman and her newborn baby are made to suffer in an extremely callous manner.”
He said the constitution ensured no one was turned away during medical emergencies, including giving birth, irrespective of their being illegal migrants or asylum seekers. The minister said the only proof they were able to find was that Kalala “met an exceptionally rude nurse” at the Tshwane District Hospital, which he said “may happen even to South Africans”.
The conduct of the nurse was being looked into. “One nurse being rude to one patient cannot be an overall conclusion that anyone who is an asylum seeker is being turned away.”
Motsoaledi listed maternity statistics at various hospitals, which indicated that many women were not citizens. According to the minister, this year’s monthly maternity statistics at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital alone showed: January – 724 deliveries (306