Root out health service ineptitude

Amother from the East Rand told us she doesn’t know whether her daughter is alive or dead, given the emotional wringer she has been through because of the incompetence of government hospital staff. Her story is almost unbelievable – both from what actually happened and because it is difficult to comprehend how she copes. About 20 years ago, she had a baby in the Tambo Memorial Hospital. When the girl was brought to her, it had two name tags.

When she queried this with a nurse, the baby was taken away and brought back later with the assurance that it was the right child.

Years later, she found out the child was not related to her or her partner at the time. When she tried to query this with the hospital, she was subjected to more abuse and accused of stealing the baby.

When the girl found out two years ago she was not the blood child of the family, she ran away from home. So the mother has lost both her girls ... the one she gave birth to and the one she raised for 18 years.

This incompetence and lacking of caring has to be rooted out from the government health service.