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By Bongani Hans 
9h ago
Durban: UDM Vice President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa revealed shocking details of how her sick aunt died after being sent from a pillar to a post by health workers in the Eastern Cape.
Kwankwa alleges that the nurses allegedly refused to treat her aunt because they feared that she might infect them with Covid-19.
Kwankwa believes that health workers did not have Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from being infected by patients with the disease.
In a letter of complaint to Eastern Cape Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane on Wednesday, Kwankwa said his aunt Nomathamsanqa Joyce Banzi succumbed to illness on Tuesday, May 5.
She said Bisho Provincial Hospital had refused to admit her since the result of her coronavirus test was pending.
Kwankwa said Banzi had first been admitted to Gray Provincial Hospital in King Williams Town, but that she was discharged after nurses suspected she had the fatal disease and sent her on the grounds that the hospital was temporarily closed to undergo fumigation.
“As we understand it, some of the staff at Gray Provincial Hospital refused to care for patients who might have contracted the coronavirus, because they were not given PPE.
“Upon arrival (from Gray Hospital), the midwife from Bisho Provincial Hospital refused to admit my aunt because the results of her Covid-19 test, conducted on April 30, were not yet available,” Kwankwa wrote.
He said a doctor had told the family that Banzi should be admitted, “but that there was no other option since the Bhisho Provincial Hospital rejected his admission due to his pending Covid-19 test result.
Kwankwa said her cousin was forced to push her sick mother in a wheelchair to a relative’s home in Dimbaza, the city of King William.
Then on May 3, Banzi, who had developed severe respiratory problems, was taken to the Dimbaza Clinic, which then transferred her to S. Giba Hospital in Keiskammahoek, where she was placed in isolation after the family was told she had given positive.
“They left her to die alone on May 5, 2020 … As a family, we are sad, but we are also angry that she sent us from pillar to post for what appears to be an incompetent Eastern Cape health case system, resulting in my aunt paying with her life, “he said.
Kwankwa said she was also concerned that Banzi may have passed the virus on to others who came in contact with her.
“There are several family members who regularly visit my sick aunt in the various medical facilities and no precautionary measures were taken in the probability that my aunt contracted the coronavirus.
“They could possibly have been infected and could already have unknowingly spread the virus,” Kwankwa said.
In response to Kwankwa’s letter, the Mabuyane Office said it had referred the alleged treatment of Banzi by public health institutions to the Ombudsman’s office for a full investigation.
“Prime Minister Mabuyane makes this decision to ensure an independent investigation of each complaint sent by members of the public to his office.
“He firmly believes that referring complaints to the Ombudsman for a full investigation is in the best interest of people in the province who receive health services from the provincial government hospital and clinics,” said the statement from Mabuyane’s office.
Political Bureau
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