STATE HOSPITAL LEFT US TRAUMATISED

IT OFTEN said that Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is one of the best in the country, boasting more than 1 000 beds and specialising including intensive care, cardiology, trauma and oncology.

However, amid all the euphoria, there is a challenge facing the hospital. My family experienced it first-hand.

The trauma started on Monday at around 9pm when we overhead an administrator shouting “voetsek” at a patient in casualty. We knew we would be there for a while.

An hour or so later we were in casualty, or 167 as its known. The nursing staff’s professionalism left much to be desired in terms of outlining hospital processes, attending to patients in dire pain, confusing messages about bed and ward availability and just plain old nursing care.

Up until 1pm on Tuesday, 16 hours since being first attended to, the patient had no drip, was in pain and had no one to assist with the wheelchair they were in. It took 21 hours for the patient to be allocated a bed. Surely a full day of waiting signifies a crisis?

The trauma did not stop there. The nursing staff and doctors kept saying that the patient could be in theatre at any given time and was therefore not to eat or drink. Another 19 hours passed before the patient was transferred to theatre.

However, that happened only because we wanted to lodge a complaint. No less than 30 minutes after shouting and screaming did the patient go to theatre. And even then, other people were operated on first.

While internal hospital and theatre processes are noted, the patient had not eaten for about two days. Unable to speak fluently, weak, dehydrated and hungry, the patient had no fight left.

As I write this letter, 47 hours since being admitted, there is no indication of when the procedure will take place.

The experience at Charlotte Maxeke has evoked the memories of the Life Esidimeni tragedy and Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus. One wonders what happens in this hospital to those people who have no family and do not know their rights.

What is even more disappointing is that despite calls and email correspondence to the chief executive of the hospital, we have not received a response. If Charlotte Maxeke is so uncaring and unprofessional, one wonders what the state of affairs is in other public hospitals. Randburg