Tygerberg Hospital's and Western Cape Healh Department's (WCHD) prosecution of three doctors for stealing a broken chair that had been dumped and which they intended repairing for the staff tearoom has been overturned on appeal.
Sectoral bargaining council commissioner Gail McEwan ordered the finding of theft be expunged from all records. This clears doctors Mathew de Swardt, Kim Morgan and Manie Domingo who are now able to get on with their careers.
However, outrageous and vindictive as the prosecution was, the overreaction of the media, e.g. Politicsweb William Saunderson-Meyer, is curious. It's of interest but a storm in a teacup, not worth the investigation and resources he and others put into it. Did anyone die; were patients or staff harmed beyond the doctors' ego and careers; was there theft of resources and medicines (broken chairs don't count)?
As I said about the Life Esidimeni case where over a hundred people died and no one found culpable, the media rarely pay attention to the real human interest issues except the flim-flam especially where political point scoring is to be made.
It's too much to expect the media not to publish mountain out of molehill more stories but concentrate on real stories like the above. Unfortunately, it's only what they're good at.
Sectoral bargaining council commissioner Gail McEwan ordered the finding of theft be expunged from all records. This clears doctors Mathew de Swardt, Kim Morgan and Manie Domingo who are now able to get on with their careers.
However, outrageous and vindictive as the prosecution was, the overreaction of the media, e.g. Politicsweb William Saunderson-Meyer, is curious. It's of interest but a storm in a teacup, not worth the investigation and resources he and others put into it. Did anyone die; were patients or staff harmed beyond the doctors' ego and careers; was there theft of resources and medicines (broken chairs don't count)?
As I said about the Life Esidimeni case where over a hundred people died and no one found culpable, the media rarely pay attention to the real human interest issues except the flim-flam especially where political point scoring is to be made.
Why did Saunderson-Meyer (here and here) and others devote so much energy to the WCHD's alleged witch-hunt against doctors, which doesn't exist because staff can do as they please. I'd suggest there was a grudge against one or all doctors here. But I agree it reflects badly on the DA government and Zille under whose administration it occurred.
Saunderson-Meyer tried to prove there was a pattern of alleged abuse against doctors. He requested the department for confidential internal disciplinary information to which he has no right, but was ignored. The absence of evidence doesn't prove its existence but he inferred it did.
Saunderson-Meyer tried to prove there was a pattern of alleged abuse against doctors. He requested the department for confidential internal disciplinary information to which he has no right, but was ignored. The absence of evidence doesn't prove its existence but he inferred it did.
He also speculates the doctors "faced the prospect of disciplinary sanctions by the Health Professions Council". But the HPCSA - a corrupt and inept organisation - only initiates inquiries on receipt of complaints. Were complaints against Morgan et al sent to them? Not by the WCHD which initiated its own proceedings. Anyway, even if complaints had been made, them sanctioning the doctors is very small because they don't, not even when doctors cause patients' deaths and injury.
This is another instance of the media making news rather than reporting it.
I suspect in the broken chair case there was a personal grudge against one or more doctors by the complainants. It should never have been allowed to go that far on the merits. Tygerberg's CEO Dr D Erasmus ought to have intervened. That it did indicates the WCHD's arrogance, incompetence and bloody-mindedness. But this is the way they are. They don't care about cost, lost resources and opportunities and the people, patients or staff.
It reflects the attitudes of DA, WC government and former premier Helen Zille under whose watch it happened. They're petty, malicious, vindictive, incompetent and criminal. Although the event per se was a storm in a teacup, it revealed the DA and WC government for who they are.
This is another instance of the media making news rather than reporting it.
I suspect in the broken chair case there was a personal grudge against one or more doctors by the complainants. It should never have been allowed to go that far on the merits. Tygerberg's CEO Dr D Erasmus ought to have intervened. That it did indicates the WCHD's arrogance, incompetence and bloody-mindedness. But this is the way they are. They don't care about cost, lost resources and opportunities and the people, patients or staff.
It reflects the attitudes of DA, WC government and former premier Helen Zille under whose watch it happened. They're petty, malicious, vindictive, incompetent and criminal. Although the event per se was a storm in a teacup, it revealed the DA and WC government for who they are.
There are previous examples of the WCHD's and WCG's conduct. They ignore and brush under the carpet complaints by the public about poor medical care and malpractice and never find anyone liable for wrongdoing, and literally (Zille too when she was premier) preemptively exonerate them.
But the knives come out when their interests and competence are questioned.
In 2012 they summarily fired Eerste River Hospital's ER head who in desperation made public the poor conditions at the hospital. WCHD management had ignored earlier appeals and the HoD and district manager didn't do what managers must to earn their million rand salaries - proactively ensure these things don't happen in the best interest of the public. They fired him allegedly on grounds he was improperly employed by his brother, the hospital CEO's, which was untrue.
At the time WCHD claimed there was a "vendetta" against them by the Cape Argus that broke the story (Saunderson-Meyer was a columnist for the weekend edition at the time). Their media spokeswoman, Faiza Steyn, was first obstreperous but grudgingly admitted to me there were "problems we're trying to attend to". They didn't and perception of service has declined over the years.
In another case in 2012 Zille or her minions with her knowledge pursued a senior whistle-blower doctor Dr Bool Smuts, although unrelated to health, on trumped-up insubordination charges, hearing after hearing, at great personal and financial cost to him (Zille and WC government had taxpayer-paid advocates). The Labour Court dismissed the findings when he appealed the Zille-fixed disciplinary and arbitration hearings.
Believe me when I say the DA and WCG are a nest of vipers (apologies to snakes which serve a purpose). They always act to protect their interests or in service of nefarious personal agendas.
In 2012 they summarily fired Eerste River Hospital's ER head who in desperation made public the poor conditions at the hospital. WCHD management had ignored earlier appeals and the HoD and district manager didn't do what managers must to earn their million rand salaries - proactively ensure these things don't happen in the best interest of the public. They fired him allegedly on grounds he was improperly employed by his brother, the hospital CEO's, which was untrue.
At the time WCHD claimed there was a "vendetta" against them by the Cape Argus that broke the story (Saunderson-Meyer was a columnist for the weekend edition at the time). Their media spokeswoman, Faiza Steyn, was first obstreperous but grudgingly admitted to me there were "problems we're trying to attend to". They didn't and perception of service has declined over the years.
In another case in 2012 Zille or her minions with her knowledge pursued a senior whistle-blower doctor Dr Bool Smuts, although unrelated to health, on trumped-up insubordination charges, hearing after hearing, at great personal and financial cost to him (Zille and WC government had taxpayer-paid advocates). The Labour Court dismissed the findings when he appealed the Zille-fixed disciplinary and arbitration hearings.
Believe me when I say the DA and WCG are a nest of vipers (apologies to snakes which serve a purpose). They always act to protect their interests or in service of nefarious personal agendas.
Particularly, it indicates the management style and ethics of head of health Dr Beth Engelbrecht (and previous Prof. Craig Househam). She's a politician par excellence, a Zille appointee like MEC Nomafrench Mbombo (a nurse by profession and cosmetic appointee; Engelbrecht is the de facto ultimate head of WCHD).
She's as slippery an apparatchik worthy of Soviet Russia who'll admit the sky is blue then later deny it. That's not a metaphor either because she flip-flops in the same or successive messages about matters that are brought to her attention so that her meaning is unclear and confusing (see in this blog).
Late last year she misrepresented the WCHD's 2018/19 financial report to me, public and WC legislature saying that for four consecutive years there was a decline in the budget and patient numbers are dramatically increasing.
But for a million rand salaried person she either can't read a simple financial schedule or deliberately lied. In fact, the department's budget increased year-on-year almost twice inflation, similarly as a portion of the WC's total budget, and patient numbers increased a net 3%, about the same as staff numbers, over the period. It's an offense to lie to the legislature.
I informed her, Premier Alan (Windbag) Winde, director-general of the province and DA legislature spokeswoman for health aware of the "mistake" but, like Saunderson-Meyer experienced, there was no response.
I said the media concentrate on sexy irrelevances but not the real stories. Take health.
I heard a couple of days ago that recently a woman (her family and mine are acquainted) had an operation at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH). She continued to experience severe pain. She was readmitted. It was discovered the surgeon(s) left a scalpel inside her. Now she can't work because she's incapacitated and is to be boarded. (SASSA won't honour the grant unless the hospital renews the certificate every 6 months!)
To add insult to injury, GSH keeps sending her reminders to settle her account, which she's refusing to do. She and her family want to sue but don't know lawyers. Or sympathetic journalists who anyway aren't interested in stories like this.
Late last year she misrepresented the WCHD's 2018/19 financial report to me, public and WC legislature saying that for four consecutive years there was a decline in the budget and patient numbers are dramatically increasing.
But for a million rand salaried person she either can't read a simple financial schedule or deliberately lied. In fact, the department's budget increased year-on-year almost twice inflation, similarly as a portion of the WC's total budget, and patient numbers increased a net 3%, about the same as staff numbers, over the period. It's an offense to lie to the legislature.
I informed her, Premier Alan (Windbag) Winde, director-general of the province and DA legislature spokeswoman for health aware of the "mistake" but, like Saunderson-Meyer experienced, there was no response.
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I heard a couple of days ago that recently a woman (her family and mine are acquainted) had an operation at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH). She continued to experience severe pain. She was readmitted. It was discovered the surgeon(s) left a scalpel inside her. Now she can't work because she's incapacitated and is to be boarded. (SASSA won't honour the grant unless the hospital renews the certificate every 6 months!)
To add insult to injury, GSH keeps sending her reminders to settle her account, which she's refusing to do. She and her family want to sue but don't know lawyers. Or sympathetic journalists who anyway aren't interested in stories like this.
In 2015, also at GSH, a neighbour's 16 year-old girl was admitted to the ER feeling mildly ill but fine otherwise. An hour later was in a coma and a few days later brain dead, the doctors unwilling or unable to say what's wrong or what they did. It's unresolved and the family today suffer the trauma of her passing, the hospital blaming them (see below) and no explanation for her untimely death.
It happens rarely that surgical stuff is left by accident inside patients but it's egregious negligence and an immediate dismissable offense for which medical licences are revoked. But not at hospitals, public or private, and in South Africa. I don't know if the family approached the hospital (CEO Dr Bhavna Patel) or WCHD (Dr Beth Engelbrecht), but their modus operandi is to deny, obstruct and obfuscate whatever the complaint and shift blame onto the victim.
It happens rarely that surgical stuff is left by accident inside patients but it's egregious negligence and an immediate dismissable offense for which medical licences are revoked. But not at hospitals, public or private, and in South Africa. I don't know if the family approached the hospital (CEO Dr Bhavna Patel) or WCHD (Dr Beth Engelbrecht), but their modus operandi is to deny, obstruct and obfuscate whatever the complaint and shift blame onto the victim.
Today I heard of patient's experience at Groote Schuur recently. She was admitted to theatre to have a cancerous kidney removed but because she had a heart condition, couldn't go under general anaesthetic. An epidural was admitted but the needle broke off in her. They had to cut it out. A neurosurgeon was called who halted further procedures.
That night she called the nurse and said she felt something running down her back from the would. The nurse replaced the dressing, but later she called again with the same complaint. The nurse only replaced the dressing but apparently did nothing further.
The following morning her husband and a family member came to visit. The took pictures of the wound and said they're opening a legal case. Reportedly, they hired a lawyer.
In the WCHD's 2018/19 financial report Engelbrecht said medical negligence legal claims were "speculative". This from one who misreads or misrepresents their financial results.
It's too much to expect the media not to publish mountain out of molehill more stories but concentrate on real stories like the above. Unfortunately, it's only what they're good at.
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