DISSATISFIED AND DISAPPOINTED

My wife, Twanet Fourie, patient of Dr. H. Lalloo, was admitted for a C-section on Tuesday,12/03/2024, at Garden City Hospital. Tuesday and Wednesday was really a pleasure to be there, as well as to have the reassurance that my wife and baby were in such good hands, friendly, helpful and caring care of the nursing staff on duty. I would like to thank the nurses Patricia, Stella, Conni and Palese, for their awesome service.

However, Thursday morning at 02:00 , my wife was woken up by an elderly nurse, in order to have her blood pressure taken. The machine kept on pumping until my wife informed the nurse, who was actually supposed to be paying attention, that the machine was hurting her. The nurse the said that the machine cannot take a correct reading because her legs were crossed, then when that didn't work, she said it's because my wife was alleviated and without warning lowered the bed to cause my wife to lay flat on her back, this whilst the surgeon after the c-section told my wife not to lay flat on her back due to the stitches that can tear. My wife told the nurse that maybe the machine was faulty. After this whole ordeal, the nurse left and returned later with a different machine. How can nurses that can't operate the machinery be appointed at a hospital?

Then came Thursday morning. The baby was taken away for blood tests for jaundice. The lady brought back the little one without her even making a sound of discomfort. The audiologist tested her ears, very friendly, kind and handled my child with the utmost respect, again no problems. However, then again a nurse from Garden City Hospital named Karabo came into the room, whilst my wife was busy breastfeeding, told my wife that she needs to take the baby to be bathed. My wife repeatedly asked if it was really a necessity for her to bath the baby at that moment, as she was busy feeding her. The nurse rep**** ; " No , I have to do it now because I do not have any other time and I have other things to do ''. So she took our baby off the mother's breast. My wife was lying in bed listening to our baby crying and when Karabo returned the little one, it took my wife very long to calm her down.

Thereafter the lady from home affairs did her rounds, but did not get to the room that my wife was in due to a lot of walk-in customers. A nurse named Maggi Mokgale, then told my wife that she must push the baby in the crib and leave her at the nursing station and then go and sort out the home affairs because the lady will leave at 12. My wife, two days after having a c-section, not supposed to do any heavy lifting or pushing anything, was then forced to push the little one in the crib to the nursing station. There she asked the nurse at the counter to just keep an eye on the baby. The nurse said; " Yes yes just leave her there". This means my baby had to be left at the nursing station unattended.

Now, my question is this, aren't the nursing staff, especially in the post natal ward supposed to be able to operate machinery, be there for the mother and child for assistance etc.