Cape Town - A grieving Belhar family has accused medical staff at Delft Community Health Centre of negligence and showing an uncaring attitude after they failed to treat their elderly mother.
The family of Maria van Schalkwyk, 62, who died last week, claims that not only was she made to wait in the queue for more than four hours with no appropriate medical treatment, but staff at that clinic also failed to notice the signs of stroke, which she had just had.
Van Schalkwyk was declared brain dead within a few hours after her family took her from the clinic to Tygerberg Hospital.
Her son, Jerome Herdien, who has now lodged a complaint with the provincial Department of Health about the alleged neglect, said doctors at Tygerberg later informed them that Van Schalkwyk had two major strokes, which led to her brain death.
But the department dismissed allegations that it was uncaring, with spokesman Mark van der Heever claiming Van Schalkwyk was given medication immediately, and reviewed before she left the clinic within an hour of arrival.
“The patient was treated, with medication, for symptoms relating to nausea, vomiting and headaches. The doctor indicated in his notes he wanted to review the patient’s condition again after an hour, but there was no response when called, at which time the patient had left the facility,” said Van der Heever.
In the letter Herdien expresses an “utter disgust and disappointment” regarding the “lack of urgency and professional services” at that clinic.
“I’m no medical expert, but in my view my mother should have been taken directly to Tygerberg Hospital,” he wrote in the letter.
He claimed that Van Schalkwyk, a cardiac patient, who also had uncontrollable blood pressure and diabetes, was only cared for by ambulance staff and medical staff at Tygerberg Hospital.
She was taken to the clinic on the evening of March 7. Herdien claimed the service was so poor at that clinic the family had to rush her to Tygerberg Hospital, using private transport.
“Even though she was taken by an ambulance to Delft clinic, and paramedics coded her red (emergency) she was put in the queue to wait like everyone else. For more than four hours nobody gave her any medical attention, except three pain tablets that a nurse gave her. My mother vomited the tablets immediately as she was not keeping anything down,” he said.
She died on Monday after doctors switched off the life support following her brain damage.
While the ambulance that fetched Van Schalkwyk was on time, and paramedics were “on the ball”, Herdien argued that the situation at the clinic was the opposite.
Despite his mother’s inability to sit up straight, Herdien claimed that none of the staff offered to help or give her a wheelchair. “I blame the system which the provincial government offers to the poor people. The clinic was short-staffed and not well-resourced to deal with a large number of emergencies.”
Van Schalkwyk’s husband, Samuel, was distraught. “I’m so heartbroken to talk about it… the doctor on duty didn’t even examine my wife. He just took notes and asked us to wait in the queue.”
Van der Heever said a preliminary investigation revealed that Van Schalkwyk had a stroke, which was caused by a clot or blockage of a blood vessel.
Cape Argus