Horrified by the treatment from Mediclinic Potchefstroom.

My father was admitted to Mediclinic Potchefstroom on Saturday, 8 December 2024, with a lung infection. He was placed in Section B under the care of Dr. D. Masuku, specifically in the high observation room. However, there was no increased observation of my father during his stay.

I requested that his chronic medication be strictly adhered to, but this was not done at all.

I struggled to speak to a doctor throughout Sunday and most of Monday. I was with my father all day Sunday, and I begged the staff to provide him with his chronic medication, Urbanol, on Sunday evening; however, they refused. The lack of this medication caused him to become very agitated and aggressive. I knew he would be upset and unsettled on Monday morning, but I was not allowed to visit him outside of visiting hours or to speak to the doctor to have his medication looked at.

When I arrived on Monday morning, my concerns were confirmed; I was informed that my father was unmanageable. He then began complaining of severe pain in one of his legs, stating that he had fallen. When I inquired with the staff about this, they insisted that he did not fall, attributing the pain to lying down for two days. My father continued to complain and even, uncharacteristically, cried from the pain. I desperately tried to find a doctor to examine his leg from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, but I received no assistance from the section staff, who maintained their story that he had not fallen.

Eventually, after exhausting all options to get heard, I managed to speak with the Public Relations officer, who organised for my father to get X-rays. At 4:30 PM on Monday, 10 December, Dr. Le Roux informed me that my father had a broken hip and that a hip replacement would be performed the following morning. Dr Le Roux was scheduled to carry out the operation on Tuesday morning and would leave for a holiday on Thursday morning.

As a family, we were horrified by the treatment that both my father and I received from the hospital staff, so we decided to transfer my father to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg. He was transported there on Tuesday, 10 December. It was only at Milpark Hospital that my father's leg was put in traction. The doctor at Milpark expressed shock at my father's condition—he was dehydrated, his leg was not properly secured, he was undernourished, and he was excessively sedated. Additionally, the necessary documents did not accompany him.

We were astounded by the significant difference in the care provided at Milpark Hospital. The doctors visited him twice daily and kept us informed throughout his treatment. Unfortunately, due to the depleted state in which my father arrived at Milpark Hospital, the doctors were unable to improve his health in time, and he passed away on Thursday, December 12.

In discussions with Potchefstroom doctors outside the hospital, I learned that my complaint was not the first serious issue raised against this facility.