A patient at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria was left without food or water for almost two weeks while waiting to be operated on.
The FF Plus intervened at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria last Wednesday after a patient had to wait for almost 10 days without food or water for a necessary operation.
According to a statement from the FF Plus, this young male patient was admitted to hospital on October 2 after breaking his arm and having to undergo surgery to re-attach his arm. “The operation was postponed daily due to a crowded theater. The patient’s arm began to discolor and the person suffered severe pain,”said Phillip van Staden, FF Plus Health spokesperson.
The patient was allegedly admitted to Ga-Rankuwa Hospital two days before he was admitted to Steve Biko Hospital, where he also received no treatment.
The FF Plus heard first-hand about the patient’s shocking experience at this hospital during a meeting of Parliament’s health committee last Wednesday.
“We heard about the incident at 09:15 and immediately informed the chair of the portfolio committee, the Gauteng MEC for health as well as the Gauteng department of health about the incident. By 10:39, the patient was already taken to the theatre for surgery, ”says Van Staden.
Van Staden says maladministration and public health mismanagement must be eradicated with root and branch.
The FF Plus feels that this single incident once again sheds the spotlight on the enormous public health crisis in South Africa. “This incident also supports the FF Plus’ position on health care, which will only be driven further into the abyss under a program such as the National Health Insurance (NHI) that the government wants to impose on all South Africans,” says Van Staden.
Van Staden said that the patient was discharged on Friday afternoon and was recovering well at home.
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