Eastern Cape health superintendent-general Dr Thobile Mbengashe will today send a team of officials to investigate how a male patient passed hospital security, went into a female ward and raped a patient.
This is just days after two other incidents of violence took place in the Nelson Mandela Central Hospital.
The 28-year-old man was under a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation at Madzikane Kazulu Hospital in Mount Frere when the incident took place. He has since been moved to Nelson Mandela Central.
The incident apparently took place a little before 4am, when a nurse walked into the ward and found the man dressing.
The family of the woman, who had suffered a mild stroke, was devastated to hear the news of their mother’s ordeal.
The man had reportedly exposed himself to women working at a cafeteria at the hospital and asked them for sex. He also broke a window.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the hospital’s management, the woman’s son said: “I received a phone call earlier this morning that my mother had been raped by another patient. The most shocking thing is that the nurses are stationed opposite the ward.
“It saddens us that we send our loved ones to hospital thinking that they will be safe, and instead they are abused in such a way. It makes us lose hope in the government. We are even embarrassed to go back to our village. People will make a mockery of our family,” he said.
He said his mother was so devastated that she had been crying all day and asking to be sent home.
Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo, who assisted the family by requesting the patient’s transfer to Nelson Mandela Central, said the department would get to the bottom of the matter.
“The incident shocked us a lot. The department will look into how the security guards do their job.
“The security guards should have reported his conduct immediately so that the hospital could prevent any acts of that kind. The MEC will send a team to the hospital to investigate how the rape occurred,” he said.
He said the team will investigate how the patient was left to roam around the hospital and allowed to walk into a female ward.
“We spend millions of rands to ensure that there is adequate security in our hospitals,” said Kupelo. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za
Team to probe hospital rape
This is just days after two other incidents of violence took place in the Nelson Mandela Central Hospital.
The 28-year-old man was under a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation at Madzikane Kazulu Hospital in Mount Frere when the incident took place. He has since been moved to Nelson Mandela Central.
The incident apparently took place a little before 4am, when a nurse walked into the ward and found the man dressing.
The family of the woman, who had suffered a mild stroke, was devastated to hear the news of their mother’s ordeal.
The man had reportedly exposed himself to women working at a cafeteria at the hospital and asked them for sex. He also broke a window.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the hospital’s management, the woman’s son said: “I received a phone call earlier this morning that my mother had been raped by another patient. The most shocking thing is that the nurses are stationed opposite the ward.
“It saddens us that we send our loved ones to hospital thinking that they will be safe, and instead they are abused in such a way. It makes us lose hope in the government. We are even embarrassed to go back to our village. People will make a mockery of our family,” he said.
He said his mother was so devastated that she had been crying all day and asking to be sent home.
Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo, who assisted the family by requesting the patient’s transfer to Nelson Mandela Central, said the department would get to the bottom of the matter.
“The incident shocked us a lot. The department will look into how the security guards do their job.
“The security guards should have reported his conduct immediately so that the hospital could prevent any acts of that kind. The MEC will send a team to the hospital to investigate how the rape occurred,” he said.
He said the team will investigate how the patient was left to roam around the hospital and allowed to walk into a female ward.
“We spend millions of rands to ensure that there is adequate security in our hospitals,” said Kupelo. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za
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