Thomas Johnson - Medical Blog

Groote Schuur Hospital, Western Cape Health Department and NPA cover up death of patient Groote Schuur Hospital's CEO Dr Bhavna Patel retired after 13 years. A public health specialist, she's credited with improvements to the hospital. That may be true. But there's a cold, cynical side to Patel that the fulsome news reports (IOL, News24) do not speak about. Patel retired leaving controversy behind that to an extent insulates the hospital and Western Cape Health Department (WCHD) from the fallout. This is the kind of story, in general and what follows in particular, the media do not publish. In 2017 Patel, Trauma Centre head Andrew Nicol, senior medical officer Ahmed Al Sayari, registrar Marcelle Crowther, junior officer (27-year-old) Mikhail Botha, registrar Mohammed Mayet, and WCHD head Beth Engelbrecht were variously accused of assault, culpable homicide, fraud and violations of national and provincial health laws and policies for the death of a 91-year-old patient on Jul...

My late mother, Helen, 91, died on July 7, 2017 at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.   She was admitted to the hospital’s Trauma Unit on July 6 after falling at home. It was discovered she broke her femur. Despite her age, she was fit to be candidate for surgery the following day as part of a world-wide trial. But overnight her breathing worsened and we were summoned to the hospital. But beyond the doctor’s immediate concern for her breathing, her life was not in imminent danger. She was stable and breathing unaided, on morphine for pain, but unconscious.   One of my sisters remained with her until midday and later reported that according to the doctors, she was “holding her own” and could recover.    However, unbeknown to us, during the second half of July 7 her condition worsened. On visiting her that evening during visiting hours, we were shocked to discover her on life support (intubated), comatose and her condition very serious. We had not been n...