The Wentworth community wants answers after a baby was born on the grass outside the facility.
Image: File
THE birth of a baby on the grass outside Wentworth Hospital has sparked public calls for an investigation and a public apology following allegations that hospital staff failed to attend to a woman in labour.
The incident apparently occurred outside the hospital’s Accident and Emergency area, in full view of patients and visitors.
The woman, who had been dropped off by an e-hailing driver at the hospital on Saturday, had allegedly been in distress and screamed for help, telling staff at the hospital that she felt she was about to deliver the baby.
“She asked for help… not luxury, and not special treatment… just basic medical care. Instead of being assisted immediately, she was denied medical care. She was told by the nursing staff to fetch a wheelchair and wait,” claimed Olivia Stuart-Jones, a community leader in Wentworth.
She alleged that moments later, while trying to put on her shoes, the woman gave birth on the grass.
“The woman gave birth on the grass without medical support, dignity, or care, while staff stood by and failed to act. I am in absolute anger, shock, and deep disappointment regarding what unfolded. This is not just negligence. This is inhumane, unacceptable, and a complete failure of duty,” she added.
Stuart-Jones spoke of the alarming state of the hospital, stating, “That area is not even a properly functioning Accident and Emergency yet patients are expected to rely on it in emergencies. That failure was exposed in the most traumatic way possible, not only for the mother and newborn, but for every person who witnessed it. What message does this send about the hospital’s standards of care, compassion, and responsibility as healthcare providers?”
She and other community members are demanding action, immediate investigation, and accountability from the staff involved. “We need clear and corrective action to ensure this never happens again. No woman should ever be forced to give birth on the ground outside a hospital while pleading for help. The hospital staff need to do better. They have failed both the baby and the woman completely,” concluded Stuart-Jones.
Wentworth resident, Wendy Connor, 58, shared her shocking experience as she arrived at the hospital at the same time as the woman. “The woman had arrived at the same time as us. The driver of the e-hailing service dropped her off at the entrance of the hospital and the security guard spoke to her. She was in distress and she told the security guard that she felt like the baby was coming,” Connor recounted.
According to Connor, despite the woman expressing urgency, “the nurses did not bother to come outside to see her. They turned the woman away and told her that she needed to go to MOPD (medical out-patient department) or to the maternity department.”
Connor noted that the woman was unfamiliar with the hospital, which exacerbated her situation while she was in labour. She said the baby fell onto the grass as the woman was putting on her shoes. “She just screamed in horror. We saw the baby flip as he fell onto the grass,” Connor said.
“If the baby fell onto concrete, it could have been fatal. It was only when the woman screamed and everyone around her started screaming that the medical staff came rushing out of the hospital,” she recounted.
Connor also raised concerns about how the baby was treated after birth, stating, “One nurse picked up the baby with her bare hands, and no gloves, towel, or sheet. She held the baby and ran through the casualty department where there could have been diseases and germs lurking.” Fortunately, she expressed relief when the baby cried out, indicating survival.
The eyewitness experiences culminated in demands for an investigation into the staff's conduct, with calls for a public apology to the woman as well as to the patients who witnessed the traumatic event. Calls for accountability remain urgent as the hospital's practices come under scrutiny.
The KZN Department of Health did not comment at the time of publication.