JOHANNESBURG - The DA on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into the case of the decapitated baby at the Tambo Memorial Hospital.
"I am horrified by the experience of a 19-year-old woman giving birth at the Tambo Memorial Hospital who reportedly watched as the baby’s head was detached from the body and then had to wait 24 hours for the rest of the body to be extracted," Jack Bloom, the DA member of the provincial legislature, who shadows the health MEC.
Bloom said the independent investigation was needed as it should be known why this case was not being treated as an emergency and why a caesarian section was not performed.
"We also need to know what is being done about over-crowded conditions at the hospital’s 30-bed neonatal ward," Bloom said
"Baby deaths at this ward increased alarmingly last year when expectant mothers were diverted there in large numbers because the neonatal ward at the Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus was closed after a Klebsiella outbreak."
Bloom said it is important that the public be assured that this ward is "properly staffed and equipped, with quality care for all patients".