Eighty-year-old Yvonne Scott was admitted to Carletonville District Hospital, west of Johannesburg, on 5 September after she fell and broke her hip. She is still waiting for surgery.
“My mother lives in an old age home and she had a terrible fall which required surgery. Even the X-ray scan shows that her hip is broken,” Scott’s distressed daughter, Cheryl Hall, tells Health-e News.
Speaking from Mpumalanga, Hall says her family was worried about Scott’s health as they were told the hospital would prioritise emergency surgeries. And Scott’s broken hip was not considered an emergency.
It is not uncommon for patients to wait for operations, earlier this year Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko admitted to a surgical backlog of 38 000. In a response to parliamentary questions last month, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said the backlogs are only among patients waiting for elective surgeries. These include general surgery, urology, gynaecology and orthopaedic surgery such as knee and hip replacements.
“One of the reasons why there are surgical backlogs is the limited number of skilled specialists in our hospitals. These backlogs are pronounced in provinces where there are no medical schools, such as Limpopo province, North-West province, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga,” the minister explains.
Access to surgery is one of the biggest challenges globally. In 2015, statistics published by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery showed that around five billion people worldwide don’t have access to basic surgical care.
Delays in getting surgery can lead to complications that could have been avoided. The Lancet Global Surgery Commission warns that, without surgical care, people can die from common, easily treatable conditions including appendicitis, hernia, fractures, obstructed labour, congenital anomalies, and breast and cervical cancer.
Poor treatment
Hall says her family is concerned that Scott’s health is deteriorating while she is in hospital.
“Since the day she arrived at Carletonville Hospital, she has been struggling with inadequate medical care. I heard from family members who visited her that she even struggled to feed herself, the nurses would put food next to her table without caring whether she ate or not,” she says.
Scott was struggling to eat by herself because she couldn’t sit upright on her broken hip. According to Hall, nurses didn’t feed her mother because Scott became angry during meal times.
On 15 September, the hospital told her that Scott would be transferred to Leratong Regional Hospital for surgery as Carletonville Hospital does not have resources.
“I drove for about two hours from eMalahleni in Mpumalanga to Leratong Hospital which is in the West Rand. I got there at 7 am. And waited for the ambulance. The ambulance only arrived at Leratong Hospital at midday. I was shocked as the distance between the two hospitals is less than 60km,” she says.
Hall says her mother was left lying in the ambulance bed in the corridors at Leratong Hospital.
“She was screaming the whole time complaining about pain. The doctor who was at the hospital did not even look at her. She had her X-rays with her but no one cared. I was with her the whole time and it saddened me to see her in that state. I don’t know how often they change her diapers. When I saw her, she had a dirty diaper and was developing bed sores,” she says.
Later that same day Scott was taken back to Carletonville Hospital because there were no beds available at Leratong Hospital.
“That broke my heart because my mother has been lying on her back since she was admitted to Carletonville Hospital. I got worried because she has bad lungs,” she says.
Scott’s health deteriorating
In response to our queries, the Gauteng health department says it is aware of the issue and actively addressing it. Khutso Rabothata, acting chief director of communications says Scott was evaluated by an orthopaedic specialist when she was admitted. He says she was currently receiving strict bed rest at Carletonville Hospital.
On 18 September, Scott was eventually transferred to Leratong Hospital but her family says her condition is worse.
Hall says the doctors told them that Scott cannot be operated on as she is now battling a thyroid condition.
“It’s been a month now since my mom was admitted to hospital and we still don’t have a clue as to when she will be operated on. We have been told they will first treat the thyroids before the hip operation. Over the weekend she looked really bad,” Hall says.
She says Scott is struggling to swallow food as a result the hospital has put her on a soft diet.
When asked for how long a patient with a broken hip waits for an operation and what kind of treatment they receive from the hospital while waiting, Rabothata says the timing of the surgery depends on various factors.
“These include the patient’s overall condition, necessary pre-operative investigations, logistical considerations and the potential risk involved. Each case is assessed individually to determine the appropriate time frame,” he says.
He says while patients are still waiting for surgery they are provided with strict bed rest, and medication to manage and treat pain.
But her family says she’s not even getting this treatment. Scott’s nephew Pierre Potgieter says his aunt is dehydrated with her eyes back in the eye sockets.
“Her eyes are red indicating that her current health status is very poor. With a broken hip at her age, it is impossible to do things for herself. She is getting panado instead of scheduled pain medication,” he says. – Health-e News
Source:
health-e.org.za
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