Surgery shock
Will Mbali’s ER mistake be the end of her medical career?
It’s no secret that Mbali (Nelisiwe Sibiya) is one of the best doctors at Durban General and she’s not afraid to let everyone know. But this proud doctor suddenly finds herself in the middle of a high-profile spectacle when she messes up the surgery of a popular popstar. “The celebrity comes into Durban General for a routine appendectomy operation, but while performing the surgery an exhausted Mbali dozes off and strikes an artery. Unable to stop the bleeding, Mbali’s patient dies on the operating table,” says Nelisiwe. Ouch! FACING THE CONSEQUENCES An anguished Mbali comes out of the frying pan that is the operating room and she’s thrown straight into the fire. A media volcano turns her into publicenemy number one and no one is being harder on her than herself, says Nelisiwe. “She takes the loss extremely hard, because for a few moments before the surgery, she and her celebrity patient had a connection. They connected over their shared love of music and Mbali felt as if they had a lot in common. She feels that she has failed her singer patient.”
The board don’t look kindly to both the medical mistake and the negative publicity, and Mbali is suspended pending an investigation. “She can’t bear to think that this may mean the end of her days in a white doctor’s coat,” says Neli. www.twitter.com/tvplus MBALI vs DHLOMO Mbali refuses to face the consequences laying down – even though she made an actual mistake – and decides to use a conniving defence against superintendent Dr Dhlomo (Nyaniso Dzeze) to get him to retract her suspension. “Mbali plays dirty. She uses her knowledge of Dr Dhlomo’s abusive nature to blackmail and threaten him. She doesn’t want to lose her job.”
Mbali’s fierce nature and fight to keep her job makes Dhlomo realise that Mbali is no pushover despite the fact that she’s in the wrong. “Mbali completely ignores Dhlomo’s orders and instructions. It’s totally against ethics and professionalism,” adds Neli, but her character is desperate. “Mbali plans to lodge a complaint of her own against Dhlomo, claiming that he’s a woman abuser.”
She’s got another plan too – when Mbali fears that her blackmail scheme isn’t going to work, she breaks into the record room at Durban Gen and goes in search of any evidence that could show she made a mistake. She’s in disguise and thinks that no one will see her, explains Neli. It’s going to be a shocker as the story plays out, but it’s safe to say that Mbali has crossed a line that she may not be able to take back if – or when – she’s found out.