Man to lose foot after hospital delays
2013-01-10 11:31
Johannesburg - A man who has been waiting 19 days to be
attended to by doctors in the Middelburg Hospital in Mpumalanga will probably
lose his foot, Beeld reported on Thursday.
George Earle, 52, a diabetic, originally had his big toe
amputated in Bethal a few months ago, but was readmitted to hospital on 22 December
when the wound became infected.
He was prepared for surgery a few times, only to be told
that the hospital did not have enough anaesthetists, and that accident victims
had to be given priority.
Earle told Beeld that his blackened foot, which by Wednesday
had become maggot-infested and was oozing a foul-smelling fluid, would now have
to be amputated above the ankle.
"It feels like a piece of dead meat and every now and
again I experience a terrible stabbing pain. They have told me that there might
be a doctor available on Friday," said Earle.
"Our hands are tied if there are no doctors,"
nurses at the hospital said.
Dumisani Mlangeni, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga
department of health, said that Earle was "on the list" for
treatment.
- SAPA
