Life Esidimeni lessons

MEMBERS of South Africa’s healthcare profession – although deeply saddened by Esidimeni – were not universally surprised it happened.

Our nurses, doctors and allied medical professionals are often witness, in the course of their work, to examples of insufficient capacity, poor management, unilateral implementation of dire cost-saving measures and deep power imbalances. This is as true in the public – as it is in the private sector.

The most obvious Esidimeni lesson for South Africa’s healthcare practitioners is this: patient wellbeing is our responsibility, and our responsibility to patient well-being must be paramount.

Here’s another lesson from Esidimeni: the powerful and senior people from whom instructions come are almost always absent when it’s time to account for the consequences

To all the role players, this morning I write this letter with tears in my eyes!

Once again an innocent man was shot as a result of the ongoing violence.

Aldo Samuels was a God-fearing husband, father and friend and his life, like so many on the Cape Flats, has been cut short because of crime that is rife in our community.

I am sure you receive many such letters.

Whether you take our plight seriously or not, I do not know but I am a 34-year-old single mother of an 11-year-old boy and unlike boys his age in plush suburbia, he cannot just be innocent and play outside.

No sir/madam, he must come home straight from school and lock himself in because it is not safe. As a matter of fact, I am too afraid to send my son to the spaza shop!

Since November there have been daily shootings in Hillview. Sometimes you see the police sometimes you don’t.

You as a parent must fear to send your child to school and even when THE four respondents to my letter into professor Chris Barnard’s heart they’re at school you must fear when (March 3, Respect for human rights) transplant procedures perfected in they have to go home because you would have been strong contenders apartheid SA. For the other Israeli never know what might happen. for the position of minister of inventions cited, there are comparable You sit at work and if you hear your propaganda in the Israeli cabinet alternatives available. phone ring you are too afraid to answer based on what they churn out. Mazinter never ceases to amaze because “what if ”…

They all have a cunning way me. His reference to the US’s We are held to ransom in our of downplaying Israel’s dismal high ranking by Freedom House communities and none of you have actions by shifting the spotlight onto questions the framework used by come up with a plan to alleviate this much more serious culprits in the this independent watchdog, since crisis: this is a state of emergency. world. However, they forget that my actions of the US triggered the total Is it because we are only coloured? article solely answered Mr Rodney destruction of Iraq in its desire to The only time we are seen is election Mazinter’stime.questionofwhyIsrael’sremoveSaddamHussain’sweapons desalination offer was rebuffed. of mass destruction. We all know now We need a resolution. How many

All respondents speak highly of that key to the US’s invasion of Iraq children must grow up without Israel’s contribution to human rights. was getting control of Iraqi oil. fathers? Pat Fisher cites the life-saving surgery He then quotes extensively Israel’s How many mothers must lose their to children in the Third World. humanitarian assistance to the children? How many?

Mazinter and Brad Markus refer to suffering Syrians. I do not condone We asked for a stronger police Israel’s humanitarian assistance to the deaths of innocent Syrians. But presence or army intervention and the people of Syria. Israel’s assistance to Syria does not nothing! Must we also loot and protest

Stephen Jeffries questions why justify Israel’s atrocious violation and burn a few buildings before we are the same treatment is not meted of the Palestinians’ human rights. heard? I am tired, tired of being treated out to China whose human rights Markus does not understand the as an afterthought. track record is far worse than that of oppressed often go to extreme lengths Our people deserve better, our Israel. He acknowledges that more to ensure human rights. children deserve to play without fear. resolutions were issued to Israel The Israel blinkers of the Tired and Angry coloured mother than the rest of the world combined. respondents prevent them from Instead of being shocked by this, he admitting Israel’s inhumane actions. discredits the UN. His reference to Good actions do not nullify atrocious other countries making use of Israeli actions. medical breakthroughs is similar to stating that the world should not tap of those instructions. We saw time and time again at the Esidimeni hearings that practitioners faced Justice Dikgang Moseneke alone.

Perhaps, in time, some person or some entity will be held to account.

However, this much is clear: in this particular case there was insufficient regulatory oversight to prevent what happened there.

We are now in an age of healthcare in South Africa when medical professionals must – through the societies that represent them, and individually – voice their concerns when patient care is compromised. Not only this, they need to put pressure on managers and authorities when they see that decisions or instructions compromise patient care.

Such decisions could be a unilateral decision to cut costs as was the case of Esidimeni. While there is still much that’s good in South Africa’s healthcare sector, there are areas where healthcare is inefficient, ineffective and potentially dangerous. Skilled, qualified and practising members of the healthcare profession must fight to make sure that whatever steps are taken in the sector are not unethical, unsafe or unfair.

We must, especially, guard jealously that these steps in no way put patients in harm’s way. Failing to do so makes another Esidimeni inevitable.