Community leaders from the Bluff, outside Durban, are demanding a full investigation into staff at Wentworth Hospital after a woman gave birth on the grass outside the emergency area on Saturday, reports Post.
They have described the staff’s callous and nonchalant attitude as alleged “unacceptable negligence”.
According to other patients and witnesses, the woman, who had been dropped off by a taxi, had been in obvious distress and screamed for help, telling staff she was about to deliver the baby.
“She asked for help… not luxury, and not special treatment… just basic medical care. But instead of being assisted immediately, she was told by nurses to fetch a wheelchair and wait,” claimed Olivia Stuart-Jones, a community leader in Wentworth.
Moments later, the woman gave birth on the grass.
“Her baby was born … without medical support, dignity, or care, while staff stood by and failed to act. I am in absolute anger, shock, and deep disappointment,” said Stuart-Jones.
“This is not just negligence. This is inhumane, unacceptable, and a complete failure of duty. That area is not even a properly functioning Accident and Emergency yet patients are expected to rely on it in emergencies.
“That failure was exposed in the most traumatic way possible, not only for the mother and newborn, but for every person who witnessed it. What message does this send about the hospital’s standards of care, compassion, and responsibility as healthcare providers?”
Stuart-Jones said they were calling for an immediate investigation and accountability from the staff involved.
A witness, Wendy Connor, said she arrived at the hospital at the same time as the woman, whose pleas for help “were ignored”.
“When the taxi dropped her off, she told the security guard she could feel the baby coming and asked where the emergency ward was.
“The guard couldn’t find a wheelchair anywhere, and while he was searching for one, the woman suddenly screamed. The guard told the nurse in emergency department that she was about to give birth, but they didn’t bother to come outside to see her, they just said she needed to go to MOPD (medical out-patient department) or to the maternity department.”
Connor said the woman was trying to walk to the right department when “she bent forward to tie her shoelace and the baby just fell out of her”.
“We saw it flip as he fell on to the grass. The mother tried to grab him but it happened so fast. The umbilical cord broke when the baby hit the ground.”
Only when the woman screamed again and everyone around her started screaming did medical staff react, Connor added.
She said when they complained about the nurses’ treatment of the woman, “staff asked for photographs or videos as proof”.
“I had not thought to take a video or photograph. My daughter gave birth two months ago, and I would not have wanted someone to film her and circulate the video if this had happened to her. Everyone who who witnessed the incident was furious.
“The worst part was how they handled the baby. One nurse picked him up with her bare hands….no gloves or towel or sheet or anything. We heard him cry, so we knew he had survived.”
Connor said the patients were demanding an investigation into the staff’s conduct. Community leaders also want a public apology to the mother and to the patients who witnessed the incident.
The KZN Department of Health had not responded before publication.
Post article – Outrage as mother gives birth on grass outside Wentworth Hospital (Open access)
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