Hospital staff don't care

OUR nightmare began on Friday January 10 when my mother became gravely ill and we had to take her to Livingstone Hospital. We arrived at 6.20am, and she was put in a wheelchair and on a drip.

She sat in that wheelchair for more than 24 hours. My mother could not walk or talk, but we were not allowed to be with her and put out of casualty.

Casualty was in chaos. The doctor in casualty eventually saw my mother late on the Saturday evening. He examined my mother, took blood and then left without saying a word.

I then had to take my mother for an X-ray as there were no porters in sight. I had to lift her and put her in another chair, then pick her up again and back in the wheelchair without any assistance.

She only got a bed late on the Saturday evening, only to be put back in the wheelchair and sent for more X-rays. My mother was taken to the ward at 2.30pm on the Sunday.

You ask anyone a question, the doctors, nurses or the security company, and you will get a sarcastic answer.

They just don't care.

Maybe they are understaffed but they take their time with everything. No sense of urgency.

To the security company – especially the team working on January 10 at casualty – you expect the people to respect you but you show absolutely no respect for the people.

To the nurses and doctors in casualty, I hope I never see you again.

To the public in the waiting area, thank you for your support and looking out for one another. To everybody else who can afford it, please put your parents on a medical aid, even if it is just a hospital plan.

Sharleen Kariem, Port Elizabeth