The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has slammed the province’s health department after the death of six-year-old Oreratile Chabalala due to a shortage of ambulances and beds.
Pretoria News yesterday reported that Oreratile died on Saturday after he had been admitted to Odi hospital but was later transferred to George Mukhari Hospital for specialised care. However, there was no bed available for him.
Eventually, when the bed was available, the ambulance meant to transport him to the facility arrived too late as he had succumbed to his illness.
His devastated family reported that the Grade 1 learner at Ontlametse Phalatse Primary School in Hebron had been struggling to breathe for a few hours before his death.
The family blamed the Gauteng health services for his death, saying they could have saved his life if they had had a sense of urgency.
The DA’s Gauteng spokesperson on health, Jack Bloom, said the party was distressed about Oreratile’s death, especially because there was no ambulance to transfer him “speedily” from Odi hospital to a specialist hospital.
Bloom said: “This tragic case highlights the hospital and ambulance crisis in Gauteng due to gross mismanagement and corruption.”
He added that according to the latest Gauteng Health Department quarterly report, only 42% of priority one calls in urban areas were attended to within 30 minutes instead of the 85% target.
He said in rural areas, ambulances reached 83% of P1 calls within 60 minutes instead of the 100% target.
“The scandalous thing is that rural ambulances from Bronkhorstspruit have to be used to attend to calls from the George Mukhari, Steve Biko, Mamelodi and Odi hospitals.
“It is unbelievable that an ambulance is sent to pick up a patient 90km away,” he said.
Bloom said he would be writing to the department to urgently investigate Oreratile‘s death as well as the broader service delivery failures that lead to loss of lives.
Contacted for comment, the department said it was still in consultation with the involved hospitals but by the time of going to print it had still not responded.
The Gauteng Health Department has seen a surge in unavoidable incidences in its public hospitals. In the latest statistics, the department recorded 7,143 avoidable incidents during the 2022/23 financial year.
Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko confirmed the statistics while answering questions from the DA in the legislature in August.
She said the number had increased from a recorded 6 910 avoidable incidents reported in 2021/22.
Nkomo-Ralehoko also reported that there were 1 954 deaths resulting from avoidable incidents.
Pretoria News