Limpopo’s Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba says she is pleased with improvements made at the Botlokwa Hospital since the department’s intervention.
Ramathuba discovered during a visit last year that complaints from patients about poor service delivery and sub-standard care at the hospital were true.
Hospital management was replaced in April.
Ramathuba was at Botlokwa to check on progress and says she is satisfied with the re-opening of the theatre in the maternity ward.
“How do you complain about theatre time, people having to wait … I want to congratulate them. I think on this one they have outdone themselves. The theatre you have seen for yourself, it’s now functional,” says Ramathuba.
However, some patients say they are still encountering challenges. Jackson Makola says he was admitted two weeks ago but ended up discharging himself due to alleged negligence from nursing staff.
“I informed the nurse in charge that the drip was no longer in good condition and was attracting flies. She told me she would attend to me after returning from her lunch break. She said I should not worry because she had disconnected the drip and will fix it later. She never did. On the eighth day I decided to discharge myself and the doctor who wrote the emergency discharge note for me, told me I was no longer welcome at the hospital,” says Makola.
