Because of one consultant's mistake, I was denied private hospital care — and forced to give birth in a public hospital under traumatic conditions.

I paid for their mistake, no shame zero accountability from Discovery.

To Whom it may concern,

I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment and distress regarding the handling of my gynecological case by your consultant, Nobuhle, an agent that worked at Discovery.

Due to the incorrect information provided to the receptionist—that I was not covered for the delivery of my child and that there was a waiting period—I was denied access to private hospital care, even though I was fully covered and no such waiting period existed. As a result, I was forced to give birth in a public hospital under extremely difficult and traumatic circumstances.

The experience was emotionally, mentally, and physically devastating:

I endured labor and contractions without pain relief and without the support of my husband due to hospital policy.

My son sustained a fractured shoulder during a forced natural birth, as he was too large (3.5kg) for a ******l delivery. They failed to check up on me regularly.

I had to undergo an episiotomy and am still recovering from the physical trauma.

A planned sterilization procedure could not be performed, requiring me to now undergo a separate medical intervention.

We were in and out of Tygerberg, N1 City, and Panorama hospitals over seven days, dealing with complications including jaundice and my son's shoulder injury.

The public hospital conditions were extremely poor, adding to the emotional burden.

All of this could have been avoided had I received accurate information from your consultant. Not only did I suffer, but I had to use my medical savings and pay out-of-pocket for further treatment—despite being covered. Discovery benefited financially from this error, while I was left with the consequences.

This was my last pregnancy—an experience I will never be able to redo. Instead of remembering it with joy, it is now a source of deep pain.

I am requesting a formal response and appropriate compensation for the significant emotional, physical, and financial toll this has taken on me and my family.

Lastly, All discovery wants to do is shrug their shoulders and throw their hand in the air while this mistake of the consultant Nobuhle is at my mental, physical, emotional and financial cost. I do expect compensation for this horrific experience.

Discovery is the only party that benefited from this error from their side and I strongly feel Discovery should be held accountable instead of having to pay a private institution for the medical procedure you paid a public hospital and instead of getting proper treatment for my son and myself I had to use my medical savings and pay out additional from my own pocket and will have extra cost regarding I'll need to be sterilized in the future and this will be another expense and time spent for this procedure.

Please let me know if you require any further information as I will be more than happy to assist.

Kind Regards Lee-Anne De Beer