Adrian Ling, Plumstead

On Monday November 25, my encounter with the doctor and most of the nursing staff at Victoria Hospital was not only traumatic but also traumatically heart-breaking to say the least.

On Monday evening, I visited my mom. When I arrived I stood in shock as I saw my mom laying half face planted in her pillow with her nose bent and she was gasping for air.

I alerted the night nursing staff, saying to them angrily, what sort of care is this! I also saw that there was a pool of water on my mom’s bedside locker and a used syringe laying on the floor. I was so angry. The nurse said that they just came on duty and didn’t know anything about it.

On Tuesday November 26, I received a phone call from the doctor the following morning. I raised my concerns with the doctor, stating what had happened to my mom the previous evening and that mom looked as if she was not been cared for, her skin on her face was flaking and in the last few days her tongue had gone from tickle pink to what it seemed like dried up calamari.

I was raising my concern with the doctor who sadly defended the nursing staff by saying that my mom could have moved over herself knowing very well that my mom was not able to move at all.

The doctor makes this ridiculous cover up! If she was in any way intellectually honest and had any integrity at all, the doctor could have apologised, instead she defended her position and ended off by saying noted.

That was the end of the telephonic conversation. I wanted to transfer my mom to palliative care as I felt that Victoria Hospital was neglecting my mom. I spoke to the day nursing staff dreading what I felt would be one of my last visiting hours and pleaded to speak to a doctor. The doctor came up to speak to me but when she saw me, she sized me up “ aka profiled me ” and spoke to me with a harsh tone and attitude as it seemed she didn’t like what I had expressed to her over the phone that morning. I was belittled and spoken down to, then cloaked by words of how the staff have my mom’s best interest at heart.

I was left flustered as I left the room and thought I can’t spend my precious visiting time having a showdown with a condescending doctor.

I rushed to my mom’s side not knowing it was the last time I would see my mom alive. I noticed as I was holding my mom that her tongue had finally been cleaned as it was a tickle pink again, her skin on her face had been exfoliated. My venting and persistence was not all in vain, but it was too late, my mom had suffered a great deal at Victoria Hospital. She passed away that evening.

Natalie Watlington, provincial health spokesperson, responds:

The Western Cape Government Health and Wellness wishes to express our sincere condolences to the Ling family during their time of bereavement and we are sorry to hear the frustrations expressed and experienced by Mr Ling.

We take the care of our patients and concerns of their relatives very seriously, and encourage our staff to ensure that the values of the department are instilled for improved person-centred care. As a management team we will reach out to Mr Ling to understand his concerns better, and we hope to have a fruitful engagement to resolve his concerns.

The feedback from patients and family matters to us. We encourage all users of the hospital to raise their concerns directly with the management team through its complaints process which will help us to thoroughly investigate all issues raised. Through this process we have an opportunity to listen to the concerns in detail and to discuss the findings from our investigation. You can contact the hospital at VHWfeedback@westerncape.gov.za to provide feedback regarding our services whether your experience has been a positive or negative one.

Western Cape Government Health and Wellness is committed to listening and improving our services. If any patient wishes to share feedback of any nature regarding our facilities, we have the following options available:

SMS: Send the word "Help" followed by your name, the nature of your suggestion or complaint, facility, and, if applicable, the name of a staff member to 31022
Call: Dial 0860 142 142 and press "1" to speak with a representative
Please Call Me: Reach out via 079 769 1207, and we'll promptly assist you
Email: Send your concerns to service@westerncape.gov.za, and we'll address them with care and urgency
Email the hospital directly to VHWfeedback@westerncape.gov.za

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