Claims that broken and dysfunctional equipment at a hospital eye clinic was responsible for a patient being left blind in one eye have been denied by the Gauteng Department of Health, which says the allegations are “factually flawed”, reports TimesLIVE.
The department said the clinic, at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane, could not be blamed, and that the accusations were not supported by the patient’s medical records.
Earlier this week DA MPL Madeleine Hicklin said the patient had been left permanently blind in the right eye as a consequence of waiting six months for retinal surgery.
“The delay was caused by the failure of the compressor and suction systems needed for operating the constellation machine, which have broken down and have yet to be replaced,” she said.
However, department spokesperson Steve Mabona has cautioned against conclusions being drawn without verified clinical information, adding that the patient’s medical complications had arisen from previous surgical procedures.
Mabona said specialists at another hospital within the Steve Biko cluster had assessed the patient and decided to operate on the eye that had a better chance of retaining vision.
“The patient was informed, through a counselling process, that the prognosis for the other eye was already poor and that surgery was unlikely to restore vision. It is therefore inaccurate and misleading to attribute the irreversible loss of vision solely to the equipment and infrastructure challenges at the hospital,” he said.
However, the department acknowledged the procurement delays relating to infrastructure issues, but he said that “processes are at an advanced stage to procure …equipment to resolve this matter. Delivery is expected in due course”.
He said the patient’s clinical records “do not support the claim that the infrastructure challenge contributed significantly to the blindness”, and expressed concern about what he described as the “careless” handling of confidential, complex patient matters without first establishing the facts.
The department said it was focused on restoring affected services, and that patients needing specialist ophthalmic care would continue to be clinically assessed and referred to facilities capable of providing the required interventions.
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