Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital. File picture
PATIENTS awaiting surgery at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) in Kimberley feel “stranded” as they do not know when they will be operated on.
Some fear the possibility of spending Christmas in hospital as there are no “updates” on why they have been waiting for surgery for weeks.
The patients said that scheduled surgeries are often cancelled at the eleventh hour and no new date is provided.
One of the complainants, a woman from Kuruman who requires ankle surgery, said she was admitted to RMSH almost two months ago and has still not received any indication of the way forward.
The patient said she has “neglected” her children, who had to write exams in her absence, as well as her job, due to the delayed surgery.
She said she was referred to RMSH from Tshwaragano Hospital on October 5 because her ankle would not heal.
“However, the doctor told me that there is no bed at the hospital so I will have to wait until they arrange a bed for me. I arrived at RMSH on October 17 and the doctor admitted me, but still today they have not done the operation on my ankle,” the woman said.
“I was supposed to go for the operation but they cancelled without telling me why. The doctors keep on saying there is no anaesthesia doctor, but every day they operate on people who came after me.
“My problem is that I am working a contract job and my sick leave is already exhausted and I have kids that are writing exams. I have to support them. I feel that I am neglecting them. One month and three weeks in the hospital is too much for me and my family.
“It's not only me who has been waiting a long time,” she added.
The woman claimed that another patient recently died while waiting for a surgery date.
She added that she fears being given a “Christmas pass” after having spent such a long time in hospital.
“I can’t be expected to travel all the way back to Kuruman and return to Kimberley at a later stage. That is not fair. It is inhumane of the department and it is too expensive for everyone. My children have suffered enough and my job is at risk.
“I have been trying to get the management to engage with us but am not winning as I’m sent from pillar to post.”
Various attempts to get comment on the matter from the Northern Cape Department of Health were unsuccessful.