Patients raise alarm about ‘unhygienic conditions, poor care’ at eMalahleni hospital

Unattended patients, rude staff, misdiagnoses and reports of patient abuse are among the serious allegations being made about the level of care at Witbank General Hospital in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, with community members describing unhygienic and alarming conditions.

Thandeka Khumalo, who was referred to the hospital in December 2024 with a ruptured appendix, is one of the many community members who allege to have witnessed alarming conditions at the hospital. She said while in hospital, an old woman next to her was lying on sheets with blood stains.

A doctor then told her that she would have to wait nine days for surgery, despite her condition being listed as an emergency. The doctor reportedly said that the woman beside her had been waiting seven days for theatre.

She confirmed that hospital staff repeatedly told the woman not to eat, only to later allow her to eat in the afternoon, a cycle that had continued for a week.

Khumalo said she lost it because “the doctor came with the drip she must put in me and she literally tied my drip with a glove because they don’t have plasters for drips”, she said.

The ordeal, she told Sunday Times, led her to discharge herself and go to a private hospital.

Khumalo has accused the hospital of being dirty, saying the nurses and doctors are rude and neglectful in their duties. She cited further incidents that reflect a worrying pattern of negligence at the hospital. She said that during night shifts, staff were often asleep, delaying care and increasing waiting times, while doctors frequently dismissed patients’ complaints without proper examinations or tests.

Khumalo cited a case of a two-year-old child in severe abdominal pain who was given only Panado despite obvious discomfort, with the doctor claiming “there is nothing wrong”.

Another case involved a family member vomiting blood who, according to Khumalo, received only basic treatment at the hospital while proper care was provided the following day at a clinic. She also highlighted previous misdiagnosis of her grandmother, whose serious chronic illness was initially dismissed as a “stomach bug”.

A man whose grandmother was admitted to the hospital in May shared his account which he describes as “one of the most traumatising experiences” of his life. He said his grandmother, who was brought to the emergency ward during a cold spell, was left half-naked, tied to a bed and deprived of basic care.

He told the Sunday Times that when the family arrived at the hospital, there were no pillows or blankets provided in the emergency room. “We had to get our own. We had to drive home to fetch pillows and blankets,” he said.

He also criticised the conduct of the nursing staff, describing them as “rude, rough and unwilling to communicate”. The man recounted how, when he walked past the cubicle where his grandmother was kept, he found her lying on the bed wearing only her bra and a diaper, shivering and crying for help.

“Her hands were tied to the bed with a bandage. She couldn’t move, she was thirsty, she was cold, and this was during a cold front. The nurses were inside the emergency room, talking and laughing. They could hear her screaming, you couldn’t miss it,” he said.

Another patient who did not want to be named said she had an operation in September 2024. The woman said after the operation her wound was leaking, and when she went back to the hospital for help, she was not assisted.

Another woman who was admitted in May this year after a miscarriage said she was sent to the labour ward for cleaning, but was told to go home upon arrival there. “I told them I was in extreme pain and they gave me painkillers and folic acids,” she said.

She said this was confusing as she had been told that she had miscarried. The woman said she sat in the waiting area until she was chased out in the cold while still in excruciating pain. “It was 8am when I went to the toilet and the remains of the miscarriage were on the floor,” she said.

She said a cleaner at the hospital accused her of an illegal abortion.“I had to drag myself bleeding to the labour ward again to be cleaned,” she said.

She described her experience as painful.

The Mpumalanga health department confirmed that it was aware of the ongoing complaints about the hospital. The department’s spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, said top management and the MEC visited the hospital.

“All wards have complaints/compliments boxes which are opened weekly. All patients and families are encouraged to utilise the system. The complaints officer will acknowledge the complaint, investigate and present it to the complaints committee. The complainant will be given feedback within 25 working days after acknowledgement,” Malamule said.

Malamule denied claims that emergency surgical patients at the facility are facing extended delays before being taken to theatre. He said the hospital has six theatres, including two designated for emergencies.

“When a patient’s need is referred from any facility or doctor, they still must work up a patient — blood investigations, X-rays, etc. They then triage patients and advise on the available theatre time for emergencies. Life-threatening operations are prioritised,” he said.

However, Malamule said the hospital does have backlogs for elective operations such as orthopaedics, urology and ophthalmology. He said sometimes the hospital experiences a shortage of medical supplies.

“This is mostly from the suppliers, whereby they cannot supply adequate quantities. The hospital management has approved the cleaning standard operating procedure, a monitoring system for supervisors for all cleaners and procured adequate cleaning equipment and materials. ”