A Limpopo grandmother went to a public clinic in the Sekhukhune region to get her arthritis medication, but instead the nurses allegedly gave her antiretroviral drugs.
Nkurwanyane Ramphisa, 84, went to the Kwarilaagte Clinic in Ntoane village on Monday for her regular chronic check-up, where she was given the wrong medication.
The pensioner has already taken the wrong medication, and now she is suffering severe complications.
Ramphisa, who is completely blind, stays with her semi-literate daughter, Irene, who could not realise that her mother was given the wrong medication.
After the elderly woman’s health deteriorated on Tuesday, the family decided to research the medication online.
Ramphisa’s son, Lekgowa, said they were shocked when they discovered that the pills were actually for people suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids).
Sexually transmitted diseases
Lekgowa said the family has lost confidence in public healthcare and has opted to buy medications from private pharmacies.
He said: “My mother regularly visits this clinic, and every time she returns, her mood is at an all-time low because of the attitude of the nurses there.
“After realising that the medication was not relieving the pain on her swollen legs, we decided to google the pills.
“The research confirmed that the drugs were for people suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. My mother was so shocked that she almost slipped into a seizure.”
He continued: “We didn’t throw the pills away because we are going to submit them as evidence when we take legal action against the health facility.
“We are definitely taking this matter further because incidents like these are prevalent in the public health sector. The attitude of the nurses is just disgusting.”
A medical doctor said a prescription of the wrong medication could leave any patient with side effects.
Psychological effects
Dr Morokolo Sathekge said: “Giving the patient the wrong medication could have dire consequences, but it is highly unlikely that she could react so quickly.
“I suspect that after being informed that she was given the wrong medication, she had psychological effects.”
The incident comes at a time when the family is still reeling with grief following the death of the old woman’s son, Shimanyana, who died of lung complications.
Lekgowa said that despite the severity of his brother’s health, nurses at Philadelphia Hospital insisted on discharging him and treating him as an outpatient.
“We have made several appeals with the nurses at the hospital to keep him as an inpatient, but our pleas fell on deaf ears,” said Lekgowa.
“Even though they noticed that his health was deteriorating daily, they insisted that he would recover at home under our supervision.
“My brother eventually succumbed to TB, and no one from the hospital took the blame.”
Provincial department investigates
The provincial department of health said it has no knowledge of the incident in which the elderly woman was given the wrong medication.
Neil Shikwambana, the spokesperson for the department, said: “The incident was never brought to our attention or that of health authorities in the local area.
“We first interacted with the issue through your media inquiry. As a result, we are busy investigating in order to establish its veracity and also get to the bottom of the matter.”
