Johannesburg - The family of the 26-year-old expectant mother has been left distraught following the death of their daughter on Saturday.
According to the family, Refilwe Thamae, who was seven months pregnant, was admitted to Kopanong Hospital on Thursday after she displayed signs of mental illness.
Speaking to The Star on behalf of the family yesterday, Oupa Sefatsa said the family was informed that the 26-year-old was giving away baby clothes while she was walking from Sharpeville to Vereeniging when neighbours alerted the family.
“With the help of the police, the family was able to get Refilwe admitted to Kopanong Hospital on Thursday. However, hospital staff struggled to contain her and tried to make arrangements for her to be transferred to Sebokeng Hospital, but she was later taken to a side room and given medication,” Sefatsa said.
Sefatsa said the mother, Kedibone Thamae, had visited her daughter on Friday, and in the early hours of the morning, she received a call saying she needed to come to the hospital, not knowing that Refilwe had committed suicide.
“When she received a call and was told to come sign some documents, Mrs Thamae suspected something was amiss when she arrived at the hospital, only to be greeted by the pathology services and realised what had happened,” Sefatsa said.
However, according to Sefatsa, the family is still not sure what happened or how their daughter managed to escape security detection and commit suicide within the confines of the hospital.
“Even now, the family is still confused and does not understand what happened or how Refilwe was able to commit suicide inside the hospital without being detected by the officials,” he said.
The Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, confirmed that a 26-year-old female patient died while in hospital.
Modiba said the patient was triggered when she heard baby cries and was attended to by a doctor who eventually diagnosed her and admitted her to a maternity ward where sedation and restraints were prescribed and applied.
“Unfortunately, as the team was conducting midnight rounds, the patient was not in her bed, and later she was found hanging in the bathroom. The incident has been reported to SAPS, which has already opened an inquest docket,” he said.
Modiba added that the department’s quality assurance unit is also conducting its own internal investigation.
“The department’s quality assurance unit will also conduct an internal investigation, as this case falls under what we call ‘patient safety incident’, which includes suicides and other patient factors. The internal process takes 60 days to conclude the case independent of the police investigation,” Modiba said.
Reacting to the news, DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom said he learnt of the family’s devastation when he was told that the expectant mother had committed suicide by hanging herself with a doek (headscarf).
“I am horrified by the reported suicide of a 26-year-old pregnant woman at the Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging who was admitted for mental illness. The seven-month pregnant woman was admitted to Ward 6 on Thursday last week, but on Saturday morning, her devastated mother was told she had committed suicide by hanging herself with a doek in the toilet. Her unborn baby died with her,” Bloom said.
Bloom blamed the death on incompetence and misplaced priorities, adding that in light of the Life Esidimeni tragedy, where 144 patients died due to negligence, more care should be taken when dealing with psychiatric patients.
“When I visited in 2016, they had yet to finish a psychiatric ward that was supposed to be completed in 2007! The situation now is that mental patients are often placed in ordinary wards because the one psychiatric ward for male patients is full.
“Meanwhile, R115 million was wasted on incomplete wards that were built for the Covid-19 pandemic that now stand empty without a use,” Bloom said.
The mother of the deceased was not available for comment as she was still making funeral arrangements for her daughter and her baby at the time of going to print.
The Star