Gauteng Health has denied allegations that a pregnant patient was badly treated or forced to sleep in chairs and on the floor at Rahima Moosa Mother & Child Hospital, calling her concerns “overstated”.
After her waters broke at 35 weeks, the patient, 20, was taken to Westbury Midwife Obstetric Unit and then transferred to Rahima Moosa, but she and her mother have slammed both facilities, describing service as “pathetic” and saying there were no beds available.
The woman, who had still not given birth, alleged she had to sleep on reclining chairs or on the floor “for days”.
She told News24 she was screaming and “telling the doctor I was not feeling well, and they kept saying they would check up on me”.
But they never did, she added.
She said she was promised a bed, but it only materialised after a week.
“I first sat on a plastic black chair because there were no beds, but then I moved to the blue reclining chair. It was very uncomfortable, and I got cramps, and I later ended up sleeping on the floor. I also complained to them that my legs were sore.
“There were also other women sitting on the floor on blankets. They said I would get first preference for a bed, but whenever they called my name, someone would take my place.”
Unchecked at Westbury
Westbury had been no better, she added, where nurses failed to check on her “for hours at a time”.
The woman’s mother described the facility’s service as “pathetic”, and claimed the unit lacked the necessary resources and equipment to handle the situation.
“They said … they didn’t have the proper equipment, and the nurses weren’t very friendly either. They couldn’t answer simple questions … I wanted to know how far my daughter was dilated. They also couldn’t tell me how many centimetres she had dropped or what methods they used to check,” she told News24.
Desperate for assistance, the family was told an ambulance had been called, but it did not arrive until 1am, when the patient was transferred to Rahima Moosa Hospital. There, the mother claimed, the situation was no better, and the family was not kept informed about her status.
“My concern was whether the baby was still going to be OK…. They said yes, the baby wasn’t in distress.”
She said her daughter spent the next few days on a recliner chair or lying on the floor.
“I was told they have a system where you go from the wooden bench to the recliner seats, and then you end up getting a bed.”
At the time of going to print, she was waiting for her daughter to be induced for the second time.
Inquiry launched
Gauteng health department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba confirmed the matter was investigated after a patient’s relative had complained.
“It was found that some of her concerns were overstated. She was assessed to be stable and did not need immediate delivery. She was admitted and managed accordingly.
“Hospitals use a triage system where patients who need urgent attention are seen before the stable and non-urgent ones. Accordingly, patients who needed more urgent attention than her were prioritised.”
Modiba said the patient was in a chair bed until a normal hospital bed was available and provided to her.
“There was no reason for her to sleep on the floor, and no staff instructed her to do so. It is also not true that patients wait for two weeks to get a bed.”
He added that several factors contributed to the patient load, including the growing provincial population requiring health services and the low number of referral hospitals in the area.
“However, we are continuously expanding service as seen through the number of new facilities opened in the past financial year.”
Modiba said the Westbury Midwife Obstetric Unit was opened in May this year to alleviate pressure on the hospital.
“The hospital is also planning to utilise Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital to further reduce patient numbers at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital.”
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