SIPHELELE NKETO
A DISTRAUGHT Duduzile Hilda Ntsalu of Shayamoya in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, has accused EG and Usher Memorial Hospital of failing to do its work.
She claimed that she had been in the hospital on several occasions to enquire about her medical records, but instead she was sent from pillar-to-post without being assisted.
She said she was admitted to the hospital in 2019 to be treated for injuries she sustained during an accident.
She said that on March 14 this year, she visited the hospital to ask for a statutory medical report but was not helped.
“The hospital told me to wait for their phone call to get the medical report. After waiting for about a week, I went back to the hospital and met a senior official who also told me to go home until they called me. It’s been a while without getting any phone calls from the hospital,” said the frustrated Ntsalu, who further claimed that some hospital employees have a negative attitude towards her when she enters the hospital premises.
“It seems no one is interested in helping me in the hospital. It is painful to be disappointed by an institution like a hospital responsible for giving hope to the vulnerable,” she added.
In response, the Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal said that hospital management has made contact with the complaint, and both parties have agreed to meet on April 14.
“We note with concern the allegations by the patient that she was not treated well when she sought help,” Department of Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said.
He added that MEC Nomagugu Simelane has directed that all healthcare facilities should prominently display posters bearing the faces, names, and mobile contact details of clinic managers, hospital PROs, CEOs, and district directors so that members of the public who are unhappy with the level of service they’ve received have recourse at all times.
He urged members of the public to utilise them and not leave any healthcare facility without reporting.
