Child with broken arm 'ignored'

2005-08-11 13:42

Riot Hlatshwayo

Giyani - Nurses have been accused of turning away a 10-year-old girl who had broken her arm.

The girl's father, Jerry Dinga, 49, says he rushed her to Nkhensani hospital in Giyani, Limpopo, on Saturday but was turned away because nurses said a doctor would only be available on Monday.

"We arrived at the hospital shortly after 20:00 and waited about two hours before nurses chased us away saying the doctor would only be able to see her on Monday," he explained. "They didn't even give her painkillers."

He said his daughter had been playing with friends in Tomu village west of Giyani when she fell and broke the bone in her upper left arm.

Waiting in vain

He took his daughter back to the hospital on Monday and nurses instructed her not to eat anything until she had gone for an X-Ray and possibly into theatre.

"We waited until late in the afternoon and the nurses then said an ambulance from a children's hospital would come collect her, but the ambulance never arrived," he said.

Desperate, he asked nurses for directions to the children's hospital so he could take her there himself.

Nurses at the children's hospital in Giyani Section A said he could leave her there, and he went home.

But when he returned on Tuesday afternoon, he found his child had still not been attended to.

"All they'd done was tell her not to eat, but there was no doctor to look at her," he said. "They said a doctor would only be available on Wednesday."

A hungry, untreated patient

He said when he challenged the nurses about not feeding his child, they initially said they had, but when other patients confirmed the little girl had not eaten, the nurses apologised and organised food for her.

When he returned on Wednesday and learnt that his daughter had still not been attended to - four days after breaking her arm - he threatened to sue the hospital and go to the media.

"Only then did a doctor suddenly appear to attend to my daughter," said Dinga.

He lodged a complaint with the hospital's chief executive officer, Ernest Mboweni.

Mboweni confirmed that Dinga had lodged a complaint and said he failed to understand why Dinga went to the media.

"I don't see a story worth reporting regarding the issue," said Mboweni.

He declined to comment further, saying he was not allowed to speak to the media, and referred further inquiries to provincial department of health and social development spokesperson, Phuti Seloba.

Seloba failed to return messages left on his cellphone.

The department is investigating a separate case of negligence against the hospital.

Nurses are accused of instructing a blind 80-year-old woman to climb into a scalding bath. She sustained serious injuries as a result.

- African Eye