Dhlomo's racism accusation nonsensical, says patient

Riaan van der Westhuizen denies allegations that he refused to be treated by a black nurse. Picture: Gcina Ndwalane

Riaan van der Westhuizen denies allegations that he refused to be treated by a black nurse. Picture: Gcina Ndwalane

Published Jan 20, 2017

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Durban – A patient who was accused of racism by Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo – for allegedly refusing to be treated by a black nurse – has vehemently denied the accusation and slammed officials for turning a legitimate complaint into a racial issue.

Riaan van der Westhuizen, a construction worker from Pinetown, was admitted at RK Khan Hospital after he suffered a stab wound to his upper forearm during an attempted hijacking on December 28.

His friend had posted pictures of his injuries on Facebook and complained about the appalling conditions at the hospital.

During an interview with News24, he alleged he did not receive urgent attention on arrival, went into cardiac arrest four times and that his stab wound was sometimes left open without the necessary dressing, exposing him to possible infection.

On Thursday, Dhlomo denied Van der Westhuizen’s allegations and said he heard from hospital staff that the patient had refused to be treated by a black nurse.

“I was informed he had displayed a racist attitude. All of these allegations are from someone who’s extremely ungrateful if you consider the extent of his injuries – the laceration on his arm before coming to this hospital."

In this hospital we don’t have the luxury where patients can choose which healthcare professional can treat them,” said Dhlomo.

“The doctors are actually looking very carefully at the injury, the nerves, blood vessels and tandems. They really did the best they could under the circumstances."

“On the cardiac arrest allegation, he would not have lived to tell the story. Cardiac arrest means your heart stops beating. And when your heart stops beating, you die,” he said.

Dhlomo said the hospital’s large catchment area made it difficult to keep all its sections clean at all times because of the high volume of patients.

A sister who was present when the alleged racist remark was made on Thursday told the Daily News that on Monday after Van der Westhuizen’s admission, he had chased her and a colleague away when they tried to dress his wound.

“My colleague was about to attend to him and he came to me and said he did not want to be treated by a black nurse."

“The next day he did not have a problem with being treated by an Indian nurse. I have everything recorded,” said the nurse who asked to remain anonymous.

Van der Westhuizen hit back saying the race allegations were “nonsensical”.

“How does a medical concern turn into a racial issue? I never refused to be treated by a black nurse. All I did was raise my discomfort about the state of the facility, poor attention to patients and I did that because I’m a citizen. It is true the conditions in parts of this facility are pathetic. Once this issue got media attention yesterday workers replaced toilet seats and tiles. The cement is still wet in the bathroom in my ward,” he said.

About the cardiac arrest, he said: “I’m not a doctor but I heard people saying they lost me three times in theatre. The doctors did a great job because I was really bad when I got here. They had to give me another cut below the injury just to access one or more of the arteries and join them. The department should get its house in order and stop pulling the racial card.”

Daily News

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