SUSPICION OF NEGLIGENCE THAT MIGHT HAVE LED TO MY SISTER'S DEATH

My sister was a dialysis patient at Brenthurst Hospital for the past 3 years. She was diagnosed of kidney failure in May 2018 and has been on dialysis since. Everything was fine since until this year June. On the 06th of June, she received a message from her Doctor informing her that she has tested positive for Corona Virus. The message was received on a Saturday and she was told to go to the hospital for admission. She was then advised that she needs to find herself a way to get to the hospital as she will not be able to use the patients’ transport that used to collect them (dialysis patients). My sister’s partner had to risk his health and take her to the hospital. They arrived at Brenthurst Hospital in the morning around 10am, this was on the 08th of June 2020. She then went in and advised the sister that was assisting her at the reception that she was there for admission. She was then asked if she has tested for Covid19 and she confirmed that her results came back positive. She and her partner were told to wait outside they will be attended to. They then went and sat in the car, mind you my sister was sick at the time and her partner was also getting weak. She sent me a message telling me that they have been chased out of the hospital immediately after she told the sister that she has Corona Virus. Her partner requested for a wheelchair and he was told to go and look for it in the Hospital. I called her after 15 minutes to check if she was allowed to go inside the hospital building and she told me NO. I was very angry and couldn’t understand how come she is not allowed to go inside as she needed medical attention. At that time, it was a Monday and she was due for dialysis which is normally done from 10am. I called the hospital reception and asked them why is my sister not given attention. I spoke to a lady by the name of “Shaz” who I had to explain to her of the situation. I asked Shaz if my sister was not being attended to due to the fact that she has tested positive for Corona and also if it’s fair for the hospital to allow a dying patient to sit outside and wait for them in the car. Luckily she had a car and imagine if she had to go and sit outside the building. I also asked her if this is the 1st case the hospital has to deal with as it seems as if they don’t have any safety measures to deal with my sister. Shaz promised to sort out the situation and she will call me back once this is solved. I kept on calling my sister to check if she has been allowed to go inside and she was still not attended to. I had to call Shaz 3 or 4 times before they allowed her inside. My sister confirmed after about 30 minutes that she has been taken to Isolation ward. This was about 11:34am. She sent me another message confirming that she has been connected to an oxygen machine around 12:15. I was relieved as I knew atleast now she’s receiving medical attention. At around 14:22, she told me that a lady from Empathy Lab is refusing to take her blood as she assumed that the Medical Aid won’t pay for the test. She was told to pay R850 cash which she didn’t have. I then called the medical aid and the consultant that assisted me confirmed that there is no way that they will decline this claim they should proceed and take the test. I then told my sister but the Lab Assistant was gone at that time. At 17:45 she confirmed that Lancet Lab took blood for Covid19 test and she will get her results the following day. On the 09th of June, the following day she received her results and her test for Covid19 came back as “NOT DETECTED”. She was complaining about dialysis as she didn’t do it on Monday and again on Tuesday. She kept on asking the Ranal Care Unit when are they coming to dialyze her and she was told that they need to clear the infection first before they do that. My sister was very stressed about this as she knew her condition. Around 18:16, she sent me a message telling me that she hasn’t received her supper and she asked the nurse why hasn’t she received food. They brought her something she couldn’t even explain what it was which I believe could have been rejected by another patient. She told them that she won’t be able to eat that and asked for bread atleast. She was told that there is no bread and the kitchen is closed. She called me after an hour crying and told me she was hungry, this was now around 8pm. I then called the ward and asked them why is my sister complaining to me about being hungry, am I suppose to go to Brenthurst and bring her food that time of the night because they forgot about her? She was given a sandwich and was told not to call me again when she has a problem she must report to the nurses. My sister spent 3 days in Hospital without a hospital gown, her bedding was only changed on the 3rd day. According to her, the Doctor decided not to remove her as he didn’t trust her test results. She was then treated as a Covid19 patient. My sister continued fighting for her life and she kept on updating us at all times. Due to the current situation we were not able to visit her in Hospital but she was communicating with us everyday until Saterday,13 June. She video called me around past 4pm, told me not to stress she is getting much better and she can breathe on her own. I could also see the difference and I was happy. That was the last communication I had with her as her phone was on voicemail after that. I called the Hospital on the 14th of June in the morning and spoke to Nhunhe or Nuna , the sister that was taking care of her that day. She confirmed that my sister is awake but she’s still on oxygen and she is refusing to be taken blood as per the Doctor’s instruction. I told her that my sister can be very stubborn she will get used to her. I assumed that she was scared to be taken blood after what happened the previous day, she told us that Lancet came to take blood next to the pipe which was used for dialysis located between her thighs and she believes something went wrong there as her thigh got swollen after. It was big to such an extent that she told us she can’t even lift it. I tried to get hold of her during the day with no luck and told myself that Ill call the afternoon nurse and check her condition. I then received a call at around past 7pm saying that I must quickly come to the Hospital my sister is not well. We rushed to the Hospital and they didn’t allow me to go in as my temperature was high when we got there. Luckily, I was with my other 2 sisters and we sent the lastborn to the ward. She was then told that my sister is no more and she brought us the sad news. We struggled with the preparations of her funeral as she was confirmed as a Covid19 case by her doctor based on the symptoms when we asked but we didn’t have enough time to fight that. My sister was then buried in a dignified manner and we accepted her passing as she has been ill for quite a long time. On my return from home I received a call from Sister Khosi requesting a soft copy of my sister’s DHA form. I sent it to her with no questions asked. I then so an opportunity to ask her if it was possible to speak to a nurse that was nursing my sister on the night of her death and she confirmed that it is possible I will have to speak to Nune but she was off for 2 weeks. I waited and called the hospital on the 16th of July and I was referred to a sister (Xhosa Speaking) but didn’t get her name. She asked me why am I not asking this question from my sister’s doctor and I told her the doctor didn’t nurse my sister that day all I want is to speak to the person that was there on her last moments. I need to know how did it happen, was she in pain, did she stop breathing and if so from what time and why was I only called at past 7, I could have been called when she was still struggling if she did struggle. All I want is closure not that I want to point fingers at anyone. The Lady couldn’t understand my request and she even mentioned that “ you know sometimes we are not allowed to give out patient information” ,that made me raise my voice and asked her are you now asking me to wake her from the dead so that we can get this info and she couldn’t answer that. I was then told to call Saturday as Nune is working that day. I called again on Saterday,18th of July and managed to get hold of Nune. She was very defensive on the phone, I even asked her why are you fighting with me whereas you can simple say you can’t help me. I asked her why is that whenever I speak about this topic I get such response, she then said to me “how can you expect me to know what happened to your sister whereas I was not there when this happened”. I told her that I was given her name and all she can do is to direct me to the relevant person and not to be so defensive. She didn’t even see the need of giving me any information and I ended the call. The treatment that I got from Brenthurst is now raising suspicions of what really happened to my sister. Why is the staff being so defensive when I ask them about her last moments? Was there anyone around when this happened ? What if no one knows how did she pass away? I need answers urgently, this is NOT acceptable especially in a Private Hospital.