By Theodorah Waga Mawasha
MHLABA- CROSS- Dominetteth Mashimbye from Mhlaba Cross, Greater Tzaneen, has come out guns blazing with allegations of negligence resulting in the deaths of her two infant children at Letaba hospital.
Allegedly, the children both died under the same circumstances in ward 3 of the facility in different years.
Mashimbye alleged that on August 18, 2002, she took her 3 years-old son who had a cough to Letaba hospital for a check-up.
The child was then admitted. However, his health started deteriorating after he was allegedly given the wrong medication by a nurse on night duty.
“I noticed my child’s condition had deteriorated the next day I went to visit. He died after 3 days. I started asking questions and a nurse confessed she had given him the wrong medicine that wasn’t prescribed by a Doctor because the child had started vomiting”, Mashimbye sobbed.
Tzaneen voice is in possession of documents detailing how the alleged mix-up happened and affidavits written by the nurse when a case was opened at Ritavi police station.
There has been no accountability from the hospital and no arrests made up to now.
The mother suffered a double blow because in 2014, while she was still going in and out of different courts fighting to get compensation from the hospital, she lost another child in the same manner, at the same ward of the health facility.
Moreover, post-mortem results were never released to the family to date.
“I need answers from the hospital. I fought tooth and nail to get answers for the deaths of my children and to at least get post-mortem results.
No one has taken accountability for the deaths. I get lawyers who say they will help me but they abandon my case after a few months. I am starting to suspect that they are being bribed “, said Mashimbye.
The CEO of the hospital at the time, Dr. Joseph Muhlari, promised to investigate the matter until he ultimately left office without any resolution.
The publication made several attempts to the media liaison officer of health in Limpopo Neil Shikwambana, but there was no correspondence from the department.
