Woman, 88, 'abused on her dying-bed'
29 July 2010, 13:53
Netcare St Augustine's Hospital has apologised to the daughter of an 88-year-old woman, admitting that it had failed to live up to its standard of basic nursing care as she had lain on her death-bed.
Dr Edwina Grossi, the Durban educationist whose mother, Sylvia Akal, was allegedly abused by two nurses at the hospital who threatened to moer (hit) her and one of whom then slapped and rubbed her knuckles on the top of her head, is satisfied with the written apology and the hospital's plan of action to improve service levels.
The nurses also allegedly tied her to the bed, dropped her bed suddenly so that she cried out and almost fed her boiling hot oats. Akal, who Grossi said was on her death- bed when she was admitted, died in hospital three days later. Akal's caregiver witnessed the alleged abuse and signed an affidavit and filed a report with the nursing service company she works for.
Grossi said she had wanted to highlight the alleged abuse in the Daily News in the hope of improving the level of care in the country.
Netcare regional manager, Ian Goble, said yesterday that only one nurse had been positively identified and suspended.
Another suspended nurse returned to work after she had passed a polygraph test and the hospital had been unable to prove whether all the alleged incidents occurred, he said. Akal's caregiver, who was with her in hospital at night, had also passed a polygraph test.
Grossi said she had recently had a meeting with Goble and regional nursing manager, Brigid Huddle.
"They were so apologetic and both were so appalled at the (alleged) treatment she had received. I wanted them to be accountable to the public," Grossi said.
In his letter to Grossi, Goble said he and Huddle had conducted a full investigation into the concerns she had raised. This included a review of patient records, staff and caregiver statements and staff and management consultations.
"Both Brigid and I concluded that the hospital had in a number of areas, specifically relating to basic nursing care, not lived up to our company values and the high standards of care that Netcare and St Augustines strive to meet and maintain," Goble wrote.
Grossi also reported the matter to the SA Nursing Council, which is yet to release its findings.
Goble said yesterday: "Such an incident, if it occurred, is absolutely unacceptable. Because of the seriousness of it, regional management got involved. Alleged abuse cannot happen again.
"In some areas we let ourselves down in terms of basic nursing care, but overall the mother did receive good care in other areas."
He said the hospital had introduced a plan which included:
The training of the ward hostesses with focus on correct temperature, special diets and timeous removal of plates. Two additional staff have been appointed to the ward to avoid using relief staff at weekends;
the re-enforcement of completion of daily maintenance check lists;
role-playing sessions re-introduced for all staff to assist with empathetic interaction with patients and family;
on-going training to identify problems with medication administration and patient restraints;
the staff member in charge to undertake more regular ward rounds and introduce themselves to patients and visitors; and
all staff instructed to inform managers on call of any after-hours patient or family complaints that need intervention.
Grossi said that after receiving Goble's feedback she finally had closure on the matter because it would have been her mother's wish to ensure her alleged suffering had not been in vain.
Dr Edwina Grossi, the Durban educationist whose mother, Sylvia Akal, was allegedly abused by two nurses at the hospital who threatened to moer (hit) her and one of whom then slapped and rubbed her knuckles on the top of her head, is satisfied with the written apology and the hospital's plan of action to improve service levels.
The nurses also allegedly tied her to the bed, dropped her bed suddenly so that she cried out and almost fed her boiling hot oats. Akal, who Grossi said was on her death- bed when she was admitted, died in hospital three days later. Akal's caregiver witnessed the alleged abuse and signed an affidavit and filed a report with the nursing service company she works for.
Grossi said she had wanted to highlight the alleged abuse in the Daily News in the hope of improving the level of care in the country.
Netcare regional manager, Ian Goble, said yesterday that only one nurse had been positively identified and suspended.
Another suspended nurse returned to work after she had passed a polygraph test and the hospital had been unable to prove whether all the alleged incidents occurred, he said. Akal's caregiver, who was with her in hospital at night, had also passed a polygraph test.
Grossi said she had recently had a meeting with Goble and regional nursing manager, Brigid Huddle.
"They were so apologetic and both were so appalled at the (alleged) treatment she had received. I wanted them to be accountable to the public," Grossi said.
In his letter to Grossi, Goble said he and Huddle had conducted a full investigation into the concerns she had raised. This included a review of patient records, staff and caregiver statements and staff and management consultations.
"Both Brigid and I concluded that the hospital had in a number of areas, specifically relating to basic nursing care, not lived up to our company values and the high standards of care that Netcare and St Augustines strive to meet and maintain," Goble wrote.
Grossi also reported the matter to the SA Nursing Council, which is yet to release its findings.
Goble said yesterday: "Such an incident, if it occurred, is absolutely unacceptable. Because of the seriousness of it, regional management got involved. Alleged abuse cannot happen again.
"In some areas we let ourselves down in terms of basic nursing care, but overall the mother did receive good care in other areas."
He said the hospital had introduced a plan which included:
Grossi said that after receiving Goble's feedback she finally had closure on the matter because it would have been her mother's wish to ensure her alleged suffering had not been in vain.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Daily News on July 29, 2010
