Durban - The family of a mentally challenged Lamontville man wants answers after his death of a stomach stab wound at Wentworth Hospital.
This brings to three the number of patients whose deaths are still under police investigation after they died allegedly after being attacked or committed suicide at the province’s state hospitals between June and July alone.
The families of the victims await the findings of investigations launched by the Department Health and the police to get answers.
In the latest incident, Mxolisi Mhlongo was found stabbed and critically wounded at Wentworth Hospital last Tuesday.
He was rushed to King Edward VIII hospital, where he later died.
Mhlongo’s family wants to take legal action against the hospital for failing to protect him.
Family spokesperson Charles Snethe said the family does not buy the version that he stabbed himself.
“We suspect that he was stabbed by another patient and because of their negligence, the hospital is trying to cover up the truth,” he said.
Snethe said Mhlongo was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday and the family was later informed that he committed suicide by stabbing himself with a bottle.
Snethe said Mhlongo’s death was a mystery since the hospital could not provide answers about where the bottle came from.
“We were called in and first were told that he was found by a security guard outside, and then we were told another version: that he was found by a hostess. We do not know what to believe,” he said.
After seeing the body, the family realised the depth of the stab wound and were even more convinced that it was not a self-inflicted wound or that it was inflicted with a bottle.
Snethe said another suspicious issue was that the family was not shown the bottle or the place where the incident allegedly happened.
“When I went back to the hospital to get more answers from the person who found him, the nurses told me that they were given strict instructions not to say anything. We are now waiting for the family lawyer to proceed with legal action. I believe that that is the only way we are going to get answers,” said Snethe.
Health department spokesperson Ncumisa Mafunda said the department and the police were still investigating. “We wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family. The hospital management has met with the family and explained what happened,” she said.
On July 14, a 63-year-old patient was attacked by an alleged psychotic patient at Ngwelezana hospital in Empangeni.
According to a statement issued by the health department, hospital staff on duty heard a sudden commotion and hysterical cries, and found the patient being attacked by another patient. The man succumbed to his injuries.
The matter was reported to the police, who are still investigating.
On June 20, the body of Mhlabunzima Khambule, a patient at Umphumulo Hospital in KwaDukuza, was found hanging from an electric extension cord tied to a water pipe in the bathroom.
Staff opened the door and found that he was dead. That case is also being investigated by the police.
Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said they believed that Khambule had committed suicide.
The department confirmed yesterday that investigations into all three incidents were still under way.