The death of a 16-year-old boy from suspected meningitis at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital was ”shocking” and ”inexcusable”, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.
This follows reports in The Star newspaper that Neo Alberts died after doctors at the Soweto hospital misdiagnosed him four times and left him untreated for three days.
A doctor only diagnosed meningitis last Friday, two days after a student doctor at the hospital allegedly told Alberts’ mother that the boy was on drugs, and only a day before his death, the newspaper reported.
Also, there was apparently no bed for the schoolboy in the hospital’s intensive care unit for the three days he was in hospital.
”The shocking death from suspected meningitis of Alberts highlights the dire state of treatment at the hospital. This is totally inexcusable at a leading academic hospital,” said Jack Bloom, DA provincial health spokesperson.
Bloom said understaffing and poor working conditions were contributing factors to Alberts’ death.
”Overworked doctors can easily make mistakes. This adds force to their demand for decent pay, otherwise we will lose them and hospitals will deteriorate further.
”Meningitis should surely have been suspected immediately in view of the publicity from cases in Johannesburg earlier this year, including three deaths,” he said.
Bloom said the behaviour of doctors involved should be questioned and called for the department to investigate the matter.
Gauteng health spokesperson JP Louw said: ”I’m still in the process of gathering information. We’ll give a more detailed comment later today [Thursday].”
Alberts’ death was the fourth reported meningitis-related death in Gauteng since the beginning of this year.
In March, a three year old died of the virus in Lenasia, barely a month after a seven-year-old boy from a primary school in Senaoane, Soweto, died of the same virus.
A 15-year-old Mondeor High School girl also died of bacterial meningitis in mid-February. — Sapa