Steve Biko Academic Hospital has placed five nurses on suspension after allegations of gross negligence relating to a video that involved a patient in the emergency unit late last month.
In the video, from 25 February, the man, held by two people, is seen collapsed on the floor while others frantically call staff for help.
One said the man “is dying in front of us while you are busy on the phone”. The nurses then took the patient away.
The patient later died in hospital, reports TimesLIVE, and the Gauteng Health Department said the hospital’s management “continues to engage the affected family to enable redress process to unfold.”
The affected family has been offered counselling.
The “unfortunate” incident, the department added, “happened …when the hospital was strengthening interventions to improve patients’ experience of care”.
Those measures include the launch of the department's ‘I Serve with A Smile’ campaign, “a change management programme aimed at improving staff attitudes and quality of services”.
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