On 04 September 2017 Moretele Times reported a story about Ms Sonja Harmse, a patient who was sent back home by Jubilee Hospital because the Hospital said there were no beds to accommodate her for the treatment of her bleeding ulcers.
Yesterday, which is four weeks later, the Harmse family notified Moretele Times about the worsening condition of Ms Sonja Harmse. She is still at home and not once was she contacted by the hospital to check if her condition improving.
Ms Hamrse’s daughter, Ms Angelique Harmse, said her mother is starting to contract other diseases because of her weak health condition.
“Since the time Moretele Times wrote the story, the situation has been worsening, my mother is now showing signs of stroke because her left side of the body is not responding accordingly.
“I was forced to consult with private doctors for my Mother to get medical treatment from my budget and I cannot always afford to pay the demanding consultation fees. I was hoping that after she was diagnosed she will be treated but she was just given medication and ejected from the hospital bed and we were told there were no more beds to accommodate her,” said Angelique.
She said she has completely lost hope in Jubilee Hospital as her mother’s democratic right to health service was abused and she is hoping to get help from other Gauteng Health Facilities.
She said her mother has not eaten a proper meal for over a month, last week she attempted to eat a chicken thigh otherwise she has been drinking only water and sometimes she gives her Mageu.
“I am completely shuttered by the handling of her situation by the hospital. Whenever I went to collect her medication, they gave me painkillers, however, the private doctor found other illnesses such as diarrhea and she prescribed medication for that as well,” Said Angelique.
Moretele Times tried to get comment from Jubilee Hospital CEO, Ms Damaria Magano, however, the CEO, was not available when we paid a visit to the hospital on Tuesday morning.
Numerous other requests for comment from the office of the MEC, Ms Gwen Ramokgopa has not been responded to.