Soiled underwear shoved into empty toilet paper dispensers, patients tied to beds with bandages, TB patients sharing wards with psychiatric patients — these are some of the complaints made this week by patients at state hospitals in Gauteng.
Following a video by former broadcaster Tom London about shocking conditions and allegedly inhumane treatment of patients at Helen Joseph Hospital, the Sunday Times visited some health facilities and spoke to patients about their experiences.
At Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in Parktown an outpatient who spent three weeks there in July said that while the day staff was “professional and caring” the night staff was not.
“During the day, the nurses would help patients who could not eat or bathe by themselves. We really enjoyed their treatment.
“When the evening came, it was a different story. The nurses treated us like dirt. When they arrived, we could hear them shouting among each other. If a patient rang the bell, they simply did not come to help.
They have tied my cousin to a bed with a bandage. I know that he is hungry because of the medication he takes but I don't have money to buy him food. The money I have was just for us to come here
— Woman from Munsieville who brought her cousin for psychiatric treatment at Leratong Hospital
“Some patients would cry for help the whole night and the nurses would not go and see what was wrong. Three people died in the three weeks I was there. All of them had complained about something at night and no one bothered to respond to their cry.
“When I got out I looked into the sky and thanked the heavens for surviving hell,” the cancer patient said.
She also said women had been placed in the same ward as men which was “uncomfortable”.
Another patient who visits the hospital for chemotherapy said: “The nurses do not treat me like an adult. They don't respect me at all. They are rude. Today [Wednesday] the nurse struggled to find a vein. She then shouted at me, accusing me of moving my hand.”
Toilets at Charlotte Maxeke were a mess. The doors have no handles and cannot be locked. In one bathroom, the Sunday Times found soiled underwear in the toilet paper dispenser. There were no taps.
The bathroom situation was the same at Helen Joseph Hospital in Auckland Park.
However, a man who was leaving after having been discharged said he had received “perfect” treatment.
“I have just spent seven days at this hospital. I cannot complain about anything. I just think that guy who shot the video had his own personal issues.
“There were different races and nations inside ward 17, no one complained. There was a guy who had been stabbed in the stomach and needed surgery and he was treated and has left. There was a 14-year-boy who was stabbed by his peers several times. He was treated and has been discharged,” said the patient, who was treated for a liver problem.
At Leratong Hospital on the West Rand, the floors were filthy. A woman who had brought her cousin for psychiatric treatment complained about delays.
“We arrived here at 8am, now it is 1pm and we have not seen the psychiatrist. They have tied my cousin to a bed with a bandage. I know that he is hungry because of the medication he takes but I don't have money to buy him food. The money I have was just for us to come here,” the woman from Munsieville said.
She eventually saw the psychiatrist at 5pm.
Yusuf Dadoo Hospital in Krugersdorp looked better, with clean floors and bathrooms. But the patients in the wards were not happy.
“I have been here for five weeks and they have only changed the bed linen four times. This includes linen for people who cannot help themselves. The ward is stinking as some people need help to clean themselves. There is also no hot water to bath.
"[Staff] just do not care. We are placed in a ward together — TB patients, epileptic patients and psychiatric patients. Where have you seen that kind of set-up? It is totally unacceptable,” one of the patients said.
Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria was the only hospital visited that had more than one roll of toilet paper and all taps working in the toilets. It was also clean.
“In 2021, I spent weeks being treated here and I had no complaints,” said a woman. “Even as an outpatient, I get the best treatment. The only thing I can complain about is the long queues. I arrived at 7am and I only saw the doctor at 1pm. The pharmacy is worse. There have been times where I waited four hours for my medication.”
Meanwhile, hospital staff say they work under tiring and stressful circumstances, handling large numbers of patients.
A porter at Steve Biko said his load was huge. “At night there are just four of us handling the whole hospital. You don't understand how difficult that is. Patients must be moved from one section to another every minute. We work 12 hours straight,” he said.
A nurse said there were many factors that impacted morale and performance.
“The policy is that after five years you are supposed to be moved to the next level, which improves your pay. At Steve Biko they will just leave you at the same level forever. When they eventually do [move you], they don't do it right and back pay you from the time you ought to have progressed to a higher level,” she said.
She said there are wards where four nurses have to take care of 40 patients.
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