Health ombudsman probes Tower hospital
HEALTH ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba arrived in East London on Monday to investigate allegations of mismanagement and maltreatment of psychiatric patients at Tower Hospital in Fort Beaufort.
Dr Kiran Sukeri had compiled a damning report and sent it to Makgoba and the Eastern Cape health department before he resigned from the hospital, alleging resources were misused by certain managers to such an extend that patients and staff were left hungry.
Health spokesman and superintendent general Dr. Thobile Mbengashe confirmed an internal investigations into the running of the hospital, saying all but one incident could be confirmed internally.
Among Sukeri’s allegations were gross negligence cases such as a group of psychiatric patients being housed in solitary confinement with no doctor assigned to monitor their health.
The National Education Health and Allied Union (Nehawu), Public Services Association (PSA) and the Democratic Nurses Association of SA (Denosa) have made their own submission, also asking Makgoba to investigate operations at the hospital.
The Dispatch has reported on the down-spiral of service delivery at the psychiatric hospital, which houses hundreds of patients.
Other allegations were that mentally ill patients were abused and there were missing death records.
A report that poor management at the hospital had resulted in the death of a 45-year-old patient as a result of eating food past its expiry date was a claim that Mbengashe denied.
Police spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni told the media last week that the deceased had complained of a stomach ache and later died.
“The cause of death is unknown as yet as we are still waiting for the postmortem results,” said Tonjeni.
Makgoba announced on Sunday that he would be visiting the hospital next week to investigate what seemed to be another “Life Esidimeni” in the making.
He was referring to the scandalous deaths of close to 150 patients in Gauteng after the department of health decided to move patients to non-government organisations that were inadequately prepared and equipped for the patients’ health needs. Some had no medication. Makgoba and his team were busy grilling hospital stakeholders behind closed doors at the Regent Hotel in East London yesterday, where documents confirming the hospital’s need for a complete overhaul to help it save lives were presented. Makgoba’s spokesman, Ricardo Mahlakanya, would not divulge any details about the scheduled visit to Tower Hospital, saying: “Once we do that, we will be compromising the investigation.”