Mrs Ellen Randall, admitted in severe pain to Edenvale hospital May 5, spent 8 days ‘without much care of attention from medical staff’. she died May 12: within two hours of being discharged…
22 May 2011 -- Mrs Ellen Randall, a hearing-impatient woman who was taken to Edenvale Hospital in severe pain on May 5, spent eight days there with little or no attention from doctors and nursing staff, although colon-cancer and liver-cancer was diagnosed. She died on May 12 within two hours of being discharged.
Relatives of Mrs Randall (left) accompanied her to the hospital and told nursing staff that she was hearing impaired and that she needed nappies because she could not move much. The adult diapers were provided by the relatives along with her pyjamas. These items were placed in the bedside cabinet next to Mrs Randall’s bed.
On May 7 her niece Mrs Shamaine Rademeyer arrived at the hospital at 3pm to visit her aunt: and noticed a large bruise on the right side of her aunt’s face. Mrs Rademeyer asked a few nurses what had happened to her aunt. “They could not tell me what happened,” said Mrs Rademeyer. She also noticed that Mrs Randall’s diapers had not been changed. On Sunday morning another relative went to visit Mrs Randall. The relative noticed that again, the patient’s diapers had not been changed. “She was wet and so was her bedding,” said Mrs Rademeyer. The relative then requested dry bedding which was brought by a nurse, but left for the relative to change.
Mrs Randall was taken to the sonamed “Charlotte Maxeke” Hospital on May 9 for tests at the hospital’s gastro enterology unit – where it was discovered that she suffered from colon- and liver cancer – and possibly also brain cancer. More tests would have to determine the extent of her cancer on May 12. After the tests, Mrs Randall was returned to Edenvale Hospital.
‘All the doctors had left…’ they claimed…
“On Wednesday when I went to visit her, I could see that something was wrong with her,” said Mrs Rademeyer. “I asked to see a doctor, and was told that there was no doctor as they had all left,” she said. Mrs Rademeyer then took her aunt down to the casualty unit in a wheelchair. There she asked for the doctor at the casualty unit to attend to her aunt. “A male nurse came out and screamed at me, telling me to take the patient back to the ward,” said Mrs Rademeyer. This male nurse The nurse told Mrs Rademeyer to ‘ask the nurses in ward seven to call a doctor’ – yet the nurses at ward seven again told Mrs Rademeyer that ‘there was no doctor on duty.” “I told them that if I do not see a doctor, I am taking my aunt home with me,” said Mrs Rademeyer
. “Five minutes later, a female doctor appeared and asked what was wrong,” said Mrs Rademeyer. She told the doctor that something was wrong with her aunt and that she urgently needed medical attention. Mrs Randall usually had high blood pressure and was on blood pressure medication. “Her blood pressure dropped from 146 the previous day to 86 on Wednesday, which was abnormal,” said Mrs Rademeyer. On May 12 Mrs Randall was again due to go to the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital for further tests, but could not go due to her poor state of health.
Mrs Rademeyer’s mother was meanwhile waiting for Mrs Randall at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, and called her daughter when Mrs Randall didn’t arrive when she was supposed to. Mrs Rademeyer then contacted the Edenvale Hospital to find out where her aunt was. The hospital told Mrs Rademeyer that Mrs Randall ‘could not be transported using a wheelchair and that special transport would be needed which had not arrived yet.’ Mrs Rademeyer immediately went to the Edenvale Hospital with her family. She also contacted her aunt’s case manager, Mrs Thandi Sithole, telling her that Mrs Randall would be taken to Edenvale Hospice (Edenvale Care Centre) that day.
… and she died within two hours after discharge from Edenvale
Mrs Rademeyer said that there was no doctor to discharge her aunt and that she (Mrs Rademeyer) had to sign a release form. She accused nursing staff of refusing to provide any form of assistance to transport Mrs Randall to the car after Mrs Rademeyer asked for a wheelchair. “When I arrived at Edenvale Hospice, Sister Leigh confirmed that my aunt was in a very bad state,” said Mrs Rademeyer.
Mrs Randall died about two hours after arriving at Edenvale Care Centre.
Official comment was of course also obtained from clinical manager D Maluleke who , “categorically” (whatever that means) denied allegations of poor service at the hospital stating; “We have a complaints system in the entire hospital with locked complaint boxes in each and every ward.” Dr Maluleke added that nursing staff wear name tags to aid in identification. When asked about the patient’s condition and her treatment at the hospital, Dr Maluleke said; “Edenvale Hospital is bound by doctor and patient confidentially, thus we will not comment further.”
Mrs Ellen Randall was admitted to Edenvale hospital in severe pain on May 5. After colon-cancer was diagnosed, she was given ‘little or no attention’ by medical staff. She was discharged on 12 May and died two hours later said her niece Charmaine Rademeyer, pictured, with her daughter.
Bleeding man not attended to at Edenvale Hospital
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.