Anxious mom in hospital squabble

An anxious mother who was trying to get her foster child admitted to Provincial Hospital for open heart surgery has claimed she was verbally abused by a clerk for interrupting the staffer’s lunch break.

Elmarie van der Merwe, 51, alleged her four-year-old son had also been pushed aside by the clerk when she tried to lock her office door.

The provincial health department says it is investigating the incident and also looking into the conduct of Van der Merwe for “knocking hard on office doors”.

Van der Merwe said after spending Wednesday morning at Dora Nginza Hospital while her child was getting pre-surgery check-ups, they had arrived at Provincial just before 1pm.

“The door to the admissions office was closed. I assumed the clerk must be on lunch,” Van der Merwe said.

“A notice on the door across the passage said lunch was from 1pm to 1.45pm. “So we waited.” After 2pm, she knocked on the door.

“There were eight other people waiting, some with children who came from places like Middelburg.

“At first there was no response.

“I assumed they did not hear me on account of the noise inside, so I knocked harder. The door was opened and I was immediately shouted at for being rude. I tried to explain that we had been waiting over an hour.

“I was told to go and wait in the waiting area, but I refused, saying my child needed to be admitted to get to his bed. I went into the office and had put the file on the desk and sat down. There were three women in the office, but one quickly left.

“The other two continued to verbally abuse me, shouting that this was a private office and I had to leave.

“I explained they were public servants who had had a long lunch and now needed to serve the public.

“I was told to leave multiple times but insisted that my son be admitted immediately.”

Van der Merwe said by this time her companion had started taking a video of what was happening.

“Other patients also came to my aid and confirmed the long lunch and that I was the first in the queue. We were told we needed to wait in the waiting area where our files would be collected.”

Van der Merwe said at this point, security staff had also been called.

“I asked that management be called as well but was told I could go up and report it. I said I would report it as soon as my son was settled in his bed.

“About eight security guards crowded into the office. One was very aggressive and tried to physically grab the phone with the video.

“By this time there was also footage of the admissions clerk pushing my child out of the way to get to the office door to lock us in.

“I said we would delete the footage as soon as management had seen it.”

Van der Merwe said a much calmer female security officer had explained that no cameras were allowed and that after she had taken her companion to see management, the video footage was deleted.

“When we got to the ward we heard that doctors had been waiting to see my son, but had left already.”

Van der Merwe said the admissions clerk and her colleagues had refused to identify themselves

“During the altercation, my son was quite scared and I kept reassuring him.

“The shouting and many people cramming into the office traumatised him.

“This incident was shocking and not at all in line with the service standards of this hospital. The staff here have always been professional, courteous and sympathetic,” Van der Merwe said.

Dr Bukelwa Mbalawa-Hans, who is in charge of Provincial Hospital, confirmed the complaint and said they had started an investigation.

She said clerks had 30 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes for an afternoon coffee break.

While he would not comment directly on whether the admissions office should be closed for lunch, health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said coffee and lunch breaks should be organised in such a way that the hospital’s operations were in no way affected.

He said the conduct of both parties should be investigated. The conduct of Van der Merwe would also be investigated as “knocking hard on office doors” was considered a safety risk by the department.

“Members of the public who have complaints against staff members should phone the hospital CEO or dial the departmental 24-hour toll-free number: 0800-032-364.”

He said nobody should go around “knocking hard” on office doors.

“That would be interpreted as a security risk.

“We have had shooting incidents in our facilities so people should strictly follow complaints procedures,” Kupelo said.

HeartKids SA project manager Liza Welch said they would monitor how the incident was handled.