A Congolese family in Nanda wants action to be taken by ambulances following the death of their baby due to the delay and negligence of emergency workers.
A seven-week-old baby boy, Skanyeko Nxumalo, died at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Public Hospital, Phoenix on April 29.
According to his mother, Ms. Lindokuhle Nxumalo, the problems that led to the death of her twin son, started the day before, when she saw that he was not well, she went to the local clinic.
He said he got there at 9 in the morning, he didn’t even pick up the line because he could see that his son’s condition was bad.
“The nurses examined him at 9.30, and then they told us not to go home. They called an ambulance to take us to the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital,” said Ms. Nxumalo.
He said they stayed until that matter, and the ambulance could not be seen.
“It came at 4. Again it came without the bed for the babies who were born prematurely. It forced her to turn around and go get it. And when she came back the second time, it was found that the bed was not charged,” said Ms. Nxumalo.
He said that it was only charged for a while because the baby could not be put to sleep in the cold.
He said they arrived at the hospital at 6, and when they were seen by the nurses and doctors immediately, they complained about why the baby was brought so late because it was still in a critical condition.
“He had started convulsing, something he hadn’t done in the morning, as I had taken him to the clinic because I suspected he had a fever,” he said.
Nebala said that her son had enough the next morning, and the nurses also pointed out that this was the result of the baby being delivered too late.
He said there was a meeting they had with the officials of the clinic, who rescued him, and they said that it was not their fault as they had called the ambulance in the early hours of the morning, but when the day came, he was about to leave his mother.
“The hospital also denied it, saying that my son came into their hands already in a very critical condition,” said Ms. Nxumalo.
He said in the meeting they attended they were told that the issue of ambulances in the province is a disaster. He said they were told that Durban generally has 40, but of them, 26 are working, and all the others are dead.
“I want someone to take action against the ambulances. I feel that they have done me a disservice by arriving late and also being negligent in not handling the children’s bed,” said Ms. Nxumalo.
He revealed that the nurse called the ambulances and insisted that the bed should not be handled and charged because the patient being taken to the hospital was a premature baby.
“I don’t know why they came late and I can’t even know what caused them to come without it and even after they picked it up they didn’t charge it, so they were forced to wait while they charged it,” he said.