2009/07/03
A PREGNANT woman died in agony yesterday because a doctor could not be found to attend to her at Frere Hospital in East London.
Her death in the early hours of the morning was one of the first reported casualties of the doctors’ strike that yesterday effectively shut down Frere, Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane and several clinics around the city.
Traumatised patients who shared the ward with the woman told the Daily Dispatch that they watched her fight for her life and eventually lose her strength as nurses battled to save her.
The woman, who was admitted to the hospital at the beginning of the week with pregnancy-related complications, was nine months’ pregnant and in her early 30s. She can be identified only once her next of kin have been notified.
The woman, who had four other children, went to the hospital on referral from Butterworth.
“She was last seen by a doctor on Tuesday afternoon, and told that test results done in Butterworth Hospital were necessary for her treatment,” one patient said.
Other patients said the woman started bleeding and complaining of severe pain just after sunset. She told them she was worried she would die. One said: “She got worse as the night wore on and cried and screamed together with those in labour.”
Nurses, they said, were frustrated by the lack of response from a doctor who was supposed to be on call. “By the time morning came, she was gasping for breath. By the time nurses put her on a ventilator she was crying out about the four children she would be leaving behind.”
A nurse, who asked not to be named, said: “There was only one new intern to attend to the whole maternity section that night, and she could not attend to all sections alone. We were busy all night, both in theatre and in the wards; some patients were bound to be neglected.”
After she died, the normal procedure would have been the immediate emergency delivery of her baby. “But because there were not enough hands to deal with that, the baby could not be delivered.”
Police yesterday said they were searching for members of the woman’s family.
Outside Frere and Cecilia Makiwane hospitals yesterday, striking doctors demonstrated after doing ward rounds and discharging some patients. At least one doctor in each hospital was left to attend to emergency and trauma cases, the maternity and paediatrics section and the intensive care unit.
“The impact of the strike has been minimal in our facilities because the critical areas were not left unattended,” Department of Health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said.
They would investigate any case of negligence and the death of the mother, Kupelo said. All striking staff would face the consequences of their illegal action.
“We will be instituting disciplinary measures, which could lead to dismissal, but the no work-no pay rule will apply.”
The strike follows the dismissal of salary increments announced by Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi last Wednesday as deceptive and meant to mislead the public.
In defiance of a court interdict ordering provincial State doctors to stay at work, the doctors vowed to strike until a satisfactory offer had been tabled. - By NTANDO MAKHUBU
Health Reporter
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