Staff at the Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital in Free State allegedly offered a woman a job and an RDP house in exchange for her silence following a botched surgery that left her with a
damaged bladder.
Sunday World has been reliably informed that medical staff at the province’s biggest public hospital failed to follow proper procedures to report the botched surgery and instead tried to sweep the matter under the carpet.
Ntswaki Mafrika was admitted to the hospital’s gynaecology ward on April 16, 2024, for a hysterectomy, a procedure to remove a womb, following the detection of cancer.
However, things took a turn when the surgery resulted in a damaged bladder, which
required additional medical interventions.
Speaking to Sunday World, Mafrika said complications started during the first surgery after she learnt that she had sustained a bladder injury during the procedure.
She was discharged with a urine bag meant to be used for 14 days, but complications arose while she was at home. This forced her to return to the hospital, where she was given a larger bag.
But this did not stop the complications, as she experienced severe swelling and discharge from the surgical wound.
Mafrika also alleged facing poor treatment from some medical staff during her recovery period.
She alleged that her complaints of pain and discomfort were dismissed and she was subjected to rude and demeaning behaviour.
“I was in pain and vomiting at some point, and one lady doctor told me she would give me pain tablets. But I complained because they were not even helping. She was so rude to the point that I cried that day.
“She started telling me that even doctors did not want to help me because I am troublesome,” said Mafrika.
She said after a few days of enduring the pain, one doctor cut through the right side of the wound, and pus was flowing out.
She said this is when she started feeling a bit of relief, but the doctor only patched up the wound and left.
Around June 3, 2024, she said, two different doctors attended to her and took her for a CT scan, where they discovered that she had a swab cloth and tangled intestines.
“I was then called to the hospital on August 22, 2024, to talk. The doctors who found the swab cloth had reported the incident.
“They apologised for what happened, that it was unfortunate, and that every person in the theatre had their own responsibilities.
“When we talked about compensation now, they said the Department of Health did not have money and suggested that they give me an RDP house plus a job at the hospital and also offered to give my child a bursary.”
Mafrika said she left the meeting to decide, but when she tried to call back, she was ignored.
She then visited Bophelo House, where the provincial health department is housed, but was told a week later that they had no record of such a case.
Bonny Sehularo, the spokesperson for the Free State Department of Health, told Sunday World the matter is being handled by their legal office.
“Due to these constraints and the fact that the matter is already under review by the health’s legal office, we cannot provide further comment or disclose any information regarding Ms. Mafrika’s case.”
Indaba Trade Union spokesperson Lerato Mthunzi explained that if there is an incident
During a procedure, all parties involved in the case would be requested to write a statement and submit it to their superiors.
“Hospitals have an investigating officer that would look into the case, and in most instances, a multidisciplinary team would come together and discuss these cases of unfortunate mishaps,” said Mthunzi.
She said this would usually be followed by disciplinary action, while in severe instances regulatory bodies get involved and a medical practitioner may lose their licence.
