The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness is investigating alleged negligence by staff at the Thembalethu Clinic in George following complaints from the family of a woman who died near the facility.
On November 16, Lulama Feni collapsed and passed away in the vicinity of the clinic. Allegedly, she did not receive the required medical attention after expressing chest pains and difficulty breathing.
A family member, Castro Fuba, emphasised the need for a comprehensive investigation into the incident and urged for decisive action to be taken.
“She went to the clinic as per her appointment to fetch her medication.
When she left the house she was fine. After a while being at the facility she did not feel well and informed the staff about struggling to breathe.
However, they were rude to her as if she wanted more medication and told her that was not the reason she visited the clinic.
“The clinic’s operating hours are until 4pm, so it closed without attending to her properly. She collapsed while trying to get back home and died.
We reject the operational manager’s remarks that she was given appropriate management,” said Fuba.
The community held a picket outside the facility last week calling for improved service delivery.
“The department is investigating the matter, and has been in communication with the community and patient’s family since the incident. We again express our condolences to her loved ones,” said provincial health spokesperson Dwayne Evans.
The SACP said the incident could have been avoided had the department not dragged its feet in converting the clinic into a 24-hour hospital.
“We have demanded for Thembalethu Clinic to be converted into a 24-hour hospital about four years ago.
The party believes that this could have been easily avoided had the department in this province not dragged her feet in this very legitimate call for conversion of this clinic. Since we believe that such an unnecessary death could have been easily avoided had this facility been accessible throughout the night given that Thembalethu is so big and with high numbers of unwell and unemployed people.
“The SACP calls on the MEC to immediately launch an investigation into this unfortunate death and equally take swift action on anyone found to have been negligent in this regard,” the party said.
Cape Times