Is the system failing vulnerable patients in moments of urgent need?
Image: PEXELS
A distraught mother was left cradling her young daughter on a patch of grass outside Wentworth Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month. The child, writhing in severe pain, was allegedly discharged from the emergency unit with only paracetamol.
"This child can barely walk. Shame on you, Wentworth Hospital," a woman posted on Facebook.
The Department of Health, however, has disputed the claims, stating that patient assessments and treatment decisions are made based on clinical evaluation and protocols, and that the matter would be reviewed to establish the full facts.
Responding to the outcry, KZN Department of Health spokesperson Agiza Hlongwane said: "If someone has been seen by a healthcare practitioner and they are unhappy with the level of assistance they are receiving, they don't have to leave the facility without raising their concern with whoever, with maybe the CEO or the PRO at the hospital or any of the senior managers, really."
He added that the law prohibits him from talking about how patients are clinically managed, but they are entitled to seek recourse about how they are treated.
"We don't know what the facts were at hand. Generally, clinicians know what to do when a patient presents themselves."
Hlongwane emphasised that patients have channels to escalate complaints.
"If someone is unhappy or their relative is unhappy with the level of treatment they've received, they have a right to not even leave the facility but take it up with whoever is in charge."
He continued: "If someone is found to have done something wrong, then in terms of how the patient was managed, then action ought to be taken against that person."
Medical expert Angelique Coetzee stressed that pain assessment can vary significantly in clinical settings.
"The reason why I would say that is because what the patient sees as a debilitating pain and what I see might be two worlds apart," she said.
She explained that diagnosis depends on multiple factors, including the type of pain, the patient's age and a proper physical examination.
She added, "And again, if it's a young patient and the patient doesn't have any epigastric pain, you can prescribe a non-inflammatory tablet… But in the public sector, you will normally get Panado."
She added that while basic pain relief is common, patients in severe discomfort should be escalated for further medical review.
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