The arrogance and impertinence of Dr. Vanessa Rammanhor and the Medical ICU Staff

To the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), LenMed Hospital complaints, or whomever this may concern.

The purpose of this short letter is to lay a charge of complaint towards the medical practitioners who were entrusted to care for ***XX ****** (who will be referred to as “the patient” in this letter).

In particular, most of these complaints are directed to Dr. Vanessa Rammanhor. In the time that my family and I have entrusted the patient into her care, she has produced an arrogant, impertinent, and frankly unacceptable social interaction with us for which she must be held accountable.

To quote two remarks from the Hippocratic Oath, I quote, “That I will not knowingly or intentionally do anything or administer anything to them to their hurt or prejudice; … That in my relations with patients and colleagues, I will conduct myself as becomes a member of an honourable profession”. This letter highlights how Dr. Rammanhor, as well as members of the LenMed medical ICU staff, breaks this oath by producing an environment which is not to the psychological and physical benefit of the patient and involved family.

The patient was admitted on the ****** 2019 for traumatic pains in his stomach. Dr. Rammanhor was assigned as the general physician for the patient. When I enquired of Dr. Rammanhor about the status of the patient (my father) over the telephone, I was accused of being “unreasonable” before she hang-up the call with me. I endeavoured to call back (twice with no answer), and on the third time her secretary ingratiatingly spoke to me and indicated that “the doctor is not available to speak to me”.

Dr. Rammanhor evaded many questions asked by the patient’s wife and son (myself), and condescendingly and patronizingly spoke down to us, I quote, “can’t you understand?!” or “how many times do I need to tell you the same thing?!”. She evaded questions asked directly towards her by the patient’s wife and son, and remarked that she could not divulge any information of the patient to the patient’s wife because of, I quote, “family politics”. Her gross remarks included “I’m so sorry, but I can’t meet with you every day and explain the same thing!” and “I have 60 patients, I can’t meet with each of families of these 60 patients”. She also rudely commented to the patient that “… your son and wife are asking so many questions…”

On the first week of the patient’s admission, Dr. Rammanhor requested that an X-ray be performed on the patient and much medication be administered. What further enraged my family and I (and one of the main reasons I produced this letter) is that she ignored information which was entrusted to her by the patient’s wife and son when the patient was admitted. This information was vital towards the welfare of the patient.

The patient’s wife and son unambiguously emphasized that the patient is an alcoholic who has been drinking for 5 weeks. We also indicated that the patient will experience withdrawal symptoms in hospital. Following this (as one would expect symptoms of withdrawal), the patient experienced anxiety (pulling out drips), irritability, restlessness, and insomnia (walking around the ICU at night).

Following these events, the patient requested that he be sent home, which was agreed by the staff on duty in the LenMed Medical ICU. The patient was subsequently threatened to be restrained on the hospital bed and being physically threatened by one of the staff members. The staff member reportedly clenched his fists and flexed his muscles as a warning that he would assault the patient if he did not obey their orders. The patient then panicked and insisted on leaving the hospital.

Despite these observations, under the care of Dr. Rammanhor and the medical staff of the ICU, the patient was allowed to jump out the bathroom window. The patient experienced many bruises and a dislocation of his shoulder on this way from the bathroom window to the concrete floor of the Medical ICU. I cannot even express my outrage toward the negligence of Dr. Rammanhor and the medical staff of the ICU. They should be held accountable.

This is not the first documented incident that Dr. Rammanhor’s arrogance and impertinence has been exhibited. Siya M (2016) wrote a review to Lenmed Health on HelloPeter (https://www.hellopeter.com/lenmed-health/reviews/insolent-doctor-***): “Dr Vanessa Rammanhor's insolence is not doing anyone favours. She needs to treat people (patients especially) with respect or consider a different profession if she can't exercise humility. My mother has been oppressed and bul**** by Dr Vanessa Rammanhor rude remarks over the past week. No patient should have to endure that. I hope Lenmed Clinic treats this matter as seriously as my concern is for my mother’s wellbeing.” This quotation reinforced my claim that Dr. Rammanhor’s interactions with her patients are careless and I hold Lenmed accountable for failing to resolve this since 2016.

This letter highlights only a fragment of the negligence and malpractice of Dr. Rammanhor and the medical ICU staff. I hope this this letter of complaint will be taken more seriously than the complaint by Siya M (2016).

~Dr. R. A.