A viral video by a patient at Helen Joseph Hospital exposing uncaring doctors and dilapidated conditions has again sparked national discussion about the attitude of healthcare workers and challenges of implementing the National Health Insurance, notes MedicalBrief.
Patient Thomas Holmes, known as radio personality Tom London, elicited national attention after his video went viral, and he was publicly funded to move to a private hospital. However, he might have to return to a state hospital for surgery – if another new crowdfunding appeal for funds is unable to raise the amount needed for the procedure at Morningside Clinic, to where he was transferred.
Holmes, whose videos of the hospital went viral over the weekend and elicited huge national attention, told IOL he is unable to pay for the operation doctors recommend he undergo, and without medical aid, will be forced to seek the treatment at a state hospital.
Helen Joseph Hospital and staff had been defended by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko after the circulation of the video, in which Holmes complained about the conditions at the hospital, and the “uncaring” staff, saying he lay for a day in his faeces, and that a dead patient was ignored for hours.
The video related to his two-week stay in August, reports TimesLIVE.
Now, the doctors at the Morningside hospital have told him they probably have to drain the fluid from his lungs, but the operation will cost around R250 000.
A crowdfunding BackaBuddy campaign has been launched in efforts to help him raise funds for this.
Holmes said the MEC and Gauteng Preimer Panyaza Lesufi had visited him this week where they discussed his possible return to a public hospital to receive medical attention, but “I told them that I would prefer to be admitted to Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital and the MEC has vowed to fast track the process”, he said.
Video exposes all
“Welcome to the Helen Joseph circus hospital,” Holmes had said as an introduction to the footage, before showing bathrooms and a basin with no running water, and dirty lavatories, one of which had no toiler paper.
He had been admitted on 25 August with a build-up of fluid in his lungs, and in unbearable pain.
“I had no choice but to go to the hospital, where I thought I would be looked after,” he said to viewers of the video.
However, when he got there, he slept in the casualty ward for three days with no pillow or blanket.
“On the second night a nurse brought me a blanket. I lost control of my bowels…there were no bathroom facilities so I lay in my faeces for a day before they moved me after I made a fuss.”
In the six-minute long video, Holmes complained about the “uncaring” attitude of doctors towards patients.
“Two days ago a team of young doctors came to do a lumbar puncture on (a patient in a bed near to me). While they were sticking needles into him, and he was screaming like an animal, they were discussing their bonuses and cars. The doctors here treat the patients like cockroaches, with absolute disdain and disrespect.”
In his footage, he also alleged that a patient died but that his dead body was ignored for hours.
“There was a man across the room from where I was lying; he died on Saturday. He was in that bed for hours before staff finally removed him. How is that OK? It’s despicable,” Holmes told News24.
He claimed that after his videos went viral, the mother of the dead man contacted him as she had a suspicion he was her son.
It turned out the man, identified as Nicholas Johannes van Burick (34) was indeed the woman’s son.
“After she had described some tattoos he had, I had to confirm to her, on the phone, that it was her son who had died.”
Heartbroken Cicilia van Burick told News24 on Sunday afternoon that she had driven from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng to collect her son’s body, and that discovering her son’s death via social media was “shattering”.
“I still have no idea why he died. There was no doctor to speak to when I got there to claim his body … Instead, the hospital staff put up a fight and refused to let me leave before I paid to have his body removed. No one from the hospital even bothered to call me and let me know he had died.”
Holmes said that telling a woman he had never met that her son was dead was one of the saddest moments in his life.
He said staff, including both junior and senior doctors, showed a total disregard for patients, even those crying in pain, and on Saturday, he could not take it any longer.
Later, in an interview with Kaya 959, Holmes said: “Clinically, I’m not criticising the level of care at Helen Joseph, but that’s my experience, I’ve heard other people say that they’ve had bad clinical care at Helen Joseph.
"My criticism of Helen Joseph, besides the bad infrastructure, food, beds and broken things, is the attitude of the doctors towards the patients. I think that’s a problem that you don’t need an MEC or Premier to fix.
"I think that’s a problem that as a human being you look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re talking to people with dignity and kindness and if your answer is no, then you can self-reflect and fix it in 1-second for yourself because you know how to treat people kindly.
"What’s happening inside Helen Joseph is that the doctors, and a majority of the doctors that I encountered, treating people around me and some of them treating me, do not say hello, do not introduce themselves, they’re not kind at all. In fact you start feeling like you’re a sub-human by the very people who’s supposed to make you feel better.”
With the help of donations from the public via a public appeal, he moved to Morningside facility for further treatment, having received close to the R120 000 he needed to pay for the private care.
“I had no choice but to ask people for financial assistance. It’s probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever had to do, but I genuinely had no choice.
“I couldn’t stay at Helen Joseph any longer because I probably would have ended up dying. I really hope that the Department of Health looks into the treatment of patients there. It cannot be normal for us to be subjected to such treatment.
“Doctors are there to service and assist patients. It’s their calling. No one forced them to take up the job. I hope that this incident has opened the Health Department’s eyes.”
He said his frustration with the lack of care led to him exposing the conditions on social media.
“I had to get the message across on what is happening in state hospitals. After I posted the videos, it became very clear that I was not the only one to have had a terrible experience. Many people have described similar tales about Helen Joseph Hospital, and shocking treatment from staff.”
On Sunday, the MEC had visited the hospital where she and senior department officials held a meeting with the facility’s management team, said spokesperson Motalatale Modiba.
“After a briefing from the clinicians, the department is satisfied adequate clinical care was discharged to manage the patient’s condition. In addition, the department is willing to allow an independent process to review the quality of clinical care provided to him while he was at the hospital.”
Modiba acknowledged the infrastructure issues referred to by Holmes.
“These are … being attended to as part of the maintenance and refurbishment programme. However, these have not had a material effect on the treatment given to patients.”
On staff attitudes, he apologised and explained that programmes to improve levels of service from doctors were being implemented.
Nine months ago, the department launched a provincial campaign called ‘I Serve with a Smile’, aimed at improving staff attitude and patient experience. This programme was now being rolled out at all facilities, he said.
“At the heart of his cry is the issues around the patient’s experience of care. You can’t excuse the staff’s attitude. It’s the reason we have introduced the intervention programme,” Modiba added.
Lambasted
This week, Wits University’s Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Shabir Madhi urged medical students at the hospital to reflect on the oath they had taken at the start of their clinical training.
News24 reports that in a letter, he expressed concern about the “alleged lack of basic civility of some of our medical students, our future healthcare workers”.
“Students are reminded of the oath they took at the start of their clinical training, in which they committed as follows: ‘In my interactions with colleagues and others, I will be respectful of their dignity and rights, I will endeavour to promote the welfare of my university and maintain its reputation; and I will adhere to the highest ethical standards in my professional capacity and my service to the community’,” he added.
He urged students to engage with patients in the “same manner that we would want others to engage with us and our family … should we be on the receiving end of healthcare services”.
He also said the university was “fully aware of the ailing infrastructure and the shortage of healthcare workers across most health facilities”.
“We appreciate the challenging nature of working in public hospitals and we need to continue advocating for improvements in staffing and infrastructure … Despite these challenges, it is incumbent on every student and staff member to respect patients, to treat them with dignity and compassion,” he said.
NHI shortcomings
Holmes said his video had no hidden agendas, but was a reminder for doctors to treat their patients with care, and his parting shot, from one of his last videos filmed from the hospital was aimed at the National Health Insurance (NHI).
Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, spokesperson for the South African Medical Association (SAMA), told The Citizen this could be a precursor to the potential shortcomings of the NHI.
“The incident reveals a deeper, more urgent issue − the deteriorating infrastructure and severe management challenges within public healthcare facilities,” he said.
“Without first rebuilding the foundations of the public healthcare system, NHI alone cannot fulfil its promise of quality care for all.”
In a parliamentary question and answer session from 2022, then Minster of Health Joe Phaahla’s written response stated that the nation had a total hospital capacity of 100 656 beds.
That number dropped to 85 126 when subtracting the number of beds that were not fit for use.
“It is essential to underscore that healthcare practitioners are working under extraordinarily difficult conditions, including overwhelming workloads, burnout and resource shortages,” said Mzukwa.
“While these systemic issues do not excuse the behaviour described by the patient in the video, they contribute to an environment where the quality of care is severely compromised.”
Kaya 959 – Tom London moved to private facility after tirade against Helen Joseph
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Helen Joseph doctors’ plea for action as hospital in ‘dire straits’
Gauteng hospitals deteriorate further after damning PP report