Negligence and lack of hygiene/cleanliness

<p>My brother has been in Netcare's St Augustine's hospital for two weeks. This is a private hospital that costs a small fortune for the type of care Nicholas requires, as a burns patient. He left ICU yesterday after 11 days and 4 surgeries, and was transferred to the Neuro ward. During his stay in ICU, it became apparent that we couldn't leave him alone at night after arriving one morning and to find that one of the drainage vacs that are critical to his healing had been switched off, resulting in fluid leakage all over his chest and bed. The care he has received in the past 24 hours in the Neuro ward has been practically non existent, not to mention the filth and stench of cigarettes on this floor. It took 24 hours to get an extension cord, so that all the machines could be plugged in at once and so that one could be plugged in without another (vital machine) being compromised. He has not been checked on once and when my mother queried this with the nurses, she was told that they only attend to the patient when the buzzer is pressed. Nicholas does not have use of his hands at the moment, so not sure how that is supposed to work. We had to ask numerous times for him to be bed bathed and when it was finally carried out, he was in excruciating pain due to the roughness, rushedness and absolute lack of care for his aching wounds. I don't know how to convey the attitude of the nurses in this post, but they have been anything but friendly or helpful and have done nothing to reassure us that he is in good hands. He is a 15-year old boy who is terrified and the nurses have shown zero empathy or sensitivity to the situation. Now for the best part. As a burns patient, it is of the utmost importance that he is placed in an environment that has the least risk of contamination/infection - this is vital to his recovery. A room away from his, is a courtyard. Outside, it is littered with cigarette stompies and an ashtray that is overflowing, despite the signs notifying that the hospital is smoke free and those who do will be prosecuted with a fine. Patients walk in and out to have cigarettes, some without shoes on - trampling dirt inside what is supposed to be a sterile environment. Last night, a patient was smoking INSIDE THE CORRIDOR, next to the window. Ash floated down onto the hospital floor. This is a major fire hazard and is just wrong on so many levels. When we raised the smoking issue with the nurse, she said "people smoke<br />Darling", as she turned her back to us and walked away while we were still speaking. It has been the most stressful experience and has saddened me deeply. Is this the state of private hospital care in South Africa? My mother who is a single Mom and is handling this situation all on her own, will not leave the hospital due to fear that he will not get the proper care he needs. </p>