Tembisa Tertiary Hospital CEO Lekopane Mogaladi plans to take on review the Health Ombud report which found that the facility failed to provide food for four days to a patient.
Health Ombud Professor Malegapuru Makgoba released his report on Wednesday after an investigation into a tweet by Shonisani Lethole, who was a patient at the hospital. On June 25, Lethole turned to Twitter, tagging health minister Zweli Mkhize as he complained about not being fed for two days. Lethole died four days after his tweet.
Makgoba found that the hospital did not provide food on the first two days and the last two days of Lethole’s stay at the facility.
In his report, Makgoba recommended that Mogaladi and 19 staff members face disciplinary action.
“We are actually taking this matter on review. The health department may accept the report but we have actually noted and identified factual and procedural errors in that report, that is why we want to take it on review,” Mogaladi said.
“There are so many material errors in that report and some of them make a mockery of the impartiality of the office [of the Health Ombud]. For example, we provided a list of patients that were in the same area as the deceased. But the ombudsman completely rejected that and said we cannot actually provide that. He has the audacity to actually say he searched for the five patients and telephoned them but he could not find them. Out of that, he was able to make a finding that has got material impact on the welfare and livelihood of people that worked so hard day and night to service the people of Tembisa,” Mogaladi said.
Mogaladi’s decision is in contrast to the stance taken by the Gauteng health department which embraced the report and committed to implement its recommendations.
Lethole was admitted at Tembisa hospital on June 23 and died on June 29. When he arrived at the hospital he had severe pneumonia, stage 4 renal failure and his Covid-19 Test came back positive.
Though his condition was critical, Lethole only saw a doctor on June 26, Makgoba found in his report. He also found that the hospital had failed to keep proper clinical records of how Lethole's progress unfolded during his time at the hospital.
Makgoba said Mogaladi organised interviews with patients that were said to have been admitted with Lethole. One of those patients indicated that they did not get any food on June 23 and 24. This patient, however, was never at the casualty isolation ward when Lethole was accommodated.
Lethole's family was expected to address the public today.
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