Durban — The family of Mbalenhle Sikhosana, who was abandoned by paramedics and died a week later, has lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against the Department of Health.
The Sikhosana family said they had called an ambulance for Thembeka
had a heart condition. Upon arrival
at their home, the paramedics allegedly refused to carry Thembeka to the ambulance because of a staircase and demanded that her relatives carry her.
Her sister, Mbalenhle Sikhosana, further alleged that the paramedics refused to give them a stretcher as her sister was too heavy.
“At first we struggled to carry her and we asked the guys who were at our neighbour’s house since there was a party there. They came to assist us in taking my sister to the ambulance but she was heavy and she constantly complained that we were hurting her.
“We are not trained to hold the body of someone with a heart condition who was struggling to breathe,”she said.
She said that they twice asked the paramedics for a stretcher but they refused to give it to them.
“They first said they cannot get out of an ambulance because it might be stolen. They also said they can’t give us a stretcher because they don’t know if it will be returned,” she said.
In the letter of complaint submitted to the SAHRC by the family, assisted by the DA, it requested a public apology for the family from the Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal and the paramedics, consequence management against the two paramedics, as well as recommendations to ensure all patients receive the assistance they require from the emergency services.
Mbalenhle expressed her disappointment to the Health Department and said it has not reached out to her family and they had no idea on what was happening with the investigation.
“Someone from the department once called and wanted to come here at home but I requested that we meet at the hospital. However, I was also told that they cannot discuss the investigation with me,” she said.
She disputed the claims by the department that they were unreachable.
She said her sister would be buried this weekend at their home in Ulundi.
When the DA visited the family they also gave Mbalenhle a food voucher.
DA spokesperson health Michele Clarke, said: “It needs to be determined
whether this horrific incident was a once-off violation or form part of a bigger pattern of negligence in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health.
“We will also request that the tracking data for the ambulance on the day
in question be made available.”
She said that Sikhosana’s death was a gross violation of her human and constitutional rights and an indictment of the ANC government that clearly does not care about poor and vulnerable South Africans.
“If the government cared about the health of the country, it would fix the myriad of systemic problems plaguing the public health sector, instead of steamrolling through the destructive National Health Insurance Bill,” she said.
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