HIGH CARE SPESCARE BLOUBERG

As a carer I would like to share my personal and traumatic experience with Specare Blouberg.

I was assigned to assist in and get some training with taking care of a patient who was in High Care and was recovering from quite a few medical conditions. On this particular day I accompanied the patient to the gym together with the OT and PT for some exercises to strengthen his legs. After gym we went back to the ward and he was put to bed.

About an hour later I heard him gagging and it sounded like he was choking on vomit. As a private carer I did not want to do something without authorisation from hospital staff so I went to the carers desk and reported my observations. The response I got was appalling, one of the carers came to him, stood at the end of the bed, looked at him and said he was fine.

The patient continued groaning very loudly and both carers totally ignored him and told me it was normal for him to do that. I then did whatever I could to make him comfortable. I tried talking to him and asking him to hold my hand with no response from him. I felt so helpless and traumatized that I left to go home but before I left I went to the carers at the desk and told them I was leaving and that he's was not responsive. Both carers just nodded and carried on on their phones.

As soon as I reached home I received a call from my patients daughter to say he had passed on.

This is so sad that patients that are in High Care where they should be attended to all the time are left to die even when they try and call for help.and the staff is notified that something is not right

On this particular morni