Very very bad service and theft of personal property

Good Afternoon Mr De Klerk, I trust you are well, I would like to bring a few concerns to your attention. * ER – X-Rays were done, the doctor advised that there could be a blockage, but sent Wayne home to use laxative. * Wayne admitted on Monday * The operation was done on the Friday morning where an inflammatory mass was found, Wayne was healing well but on Wednesday during the day he was complaining that he was not feeling well, he had cold chills, tenderness on his torso and he was vomiting.( symptoms of a leakage or infection ) When I arrived on the Wednesday evening for visiting hours he complained to me that he was not well, I spoke to the nursing sister in the ward and asked her to call the Doctor. The nursing sister’s reply to me was that please could I call him as the doctors don’t like the nursing staff to call after hours. * The doctor was contacted by me, I proceeded to inform him that the patient was not well, I told him the symptoms. The doctor’s reply to me was that the patient had a major surgery and his exact words were “ What would you like me to do at 10’o clock at night” the time the doctor was contacted was around 19:30. (If the outgoing calls are recorded from Ward F, this can be confirmed.) * On Thursday no follow up was done regarding the complaints the patient had, no x-rays were done, however the doctor continuously telling the patient that he was healing well. Blood tests were done. * The drain was removed on Thursday. * On Friday morning Wayne was discharged which was concerning as Wayne was unable to eat or drink as everything that he ate or drank was vomited up, he also had no appetite, he had sores in his mouth and throat as well. * Wayne was collected from the ward on Friday and taken home. He was running a temperature of 39.7 to 39.9 the whole of Friday and Friday night. The patient was also vomiting the whole of Friday and Friday night. * Wayne was admitted again on Saturday morning. * When I spoke to the doctor regarding the discharge, he informed me that Wayne wanted to go home on Friday, which is a blatant lie. Why would want to go home if he was feeling so unwell. * A CT scan was done and the doctor performed another surgery. The doctor informed me that he had removed a litre of fluid from the abdomen which was sent for testing. I would like a complete report of the doctors findings and what surgery was performed on Monday morning. I will also insist that our Medical aid look into what is submitted from the doctor for payment, as I don’t believe that the truth is being told about what surgery was done on Monday. Should there be further complications, the patient should be made aware of the surgery that was done. * Wayne called me the evening after the operation to tell me that he felt everything during the operation, he felt how they were working inside his abdomen and that it was getting hot and cold. * Wayne was unable to eat for almost a month, when I complained to the sister in ICU regarding all our concerns I was told that she would get the doctor to call me. The doctor then asked if I felt that Wayne could be depressed. I would also be if I had been in hospital for almost a month. I do feel that if that is what the doctor felt he should have called in a colleague to speak to Wayne. He should have also called in a physician to assess to see if there were any other issues preventing him from eating and also constantly vomiting. * It was also left up to nursing staff to explain to Wayne some of the side effects of the medication that he was on. SURGICAL ICU * The care given by most of the nursing staff was excellent. The staff were friendly, helpful and they went the extra mile. * Wayne was going to be moved from surgical ICU to Ward F, the nursing sister that did the discharge from the ICU was very rough removing the catheter and drip from the patient. * He was unable to hold his bag on his lap while being moved to Ward F, the nursing sister then said that she would bring his bag down to the ward. * Wayne’s watch was in his bag that morning, when he wanted to put his watch on in the ward he realized that it was missing. * I called the relevant nursing managers but got no feedback regarding any investigation. TO DATE NO FEEDBACK REGARDING AN INVESTIGATION OR OUTCOME HAS BEEN RECEIVED. * I spoke to Lisa Liebenberg and she escalated the matter, only then did I receive a call from the surgical unit manager regarding the matter. GENERAL * The fact that all these concerns were voiced to the correct people and that the patient and the family were not taken seriously by hospital management is of great concern. I understand that doctors and surgeons bring in revenue to the hospitals and are treated differently by hospital management. At the end of the day they have taken the Hypocritic Oath and the patient should be their focus. The surgeon’s spend less than ten minutes with a patient and DO NOT LISTEN to their patients concerns. * The surfaces in the wards are only sprayed and wiped down with disinfectant by the nursing staff before the doctors are due to do their morning rounds * Life Healthcare staff use the bathroom facilities with the door open while having a conversation with other staff members ( the public have to see that.) POSITIVES * Lisa the Unit Manager in Ward F is an asset to Life Flora. * Some of the nursing staff in Surgical ICU are dedicated and would go the extra mile. * The nursing staff in Ward F are friendly, helpful and went the extra mile to assist Wayne. * Portia from the kitchen was always friendly and helpful. Wayne has since been discharged on Sunday the 29th of October, due to the fact that Hospital Management did not bother to contact the patient or family, I have decided to put this on Life Healthcare’s Facebook and all other social media platforms as I feel that other patients and families should be aware of the care they would receive when they are admitted to the hospital. Doctors and surgeons should check their ego’s at the entrance to the hospital and should start listening to their patients. Regards Denise Allan