Injured man tells of death wish

Mandlakayise Diko
Mandlakayise Diko
An Eastern Cape man who has been in hospital for four months with a broken leg has now said he wished he was dead.

Mandlakayise Diko, 29, was admitted to the All Saints Hospital in Ngcobo after suffering a break of his femur as a result of being in vehicle accident on June 22.

He was admitted to the All Saints Hospital where there is no orthopaedic ward.

On arrival at the general ward, his leg was bandaged with metal used as a splint to restrict his leg from moving.

The Daily Dispatch first reported about Diko’s traumatic experience at the hands of hospital staff on September 21.

The Eastern Cape health department has on numerous occasions since, claimed that Diko was receiving the necessary attention and that he would be operated on soon.

He has yet to be operated on.

Speaking from his bed at the Mthatha-based Bedford Orthopaedic Hospital, where he has been waiting for a month to undergo the operation, Diko said: “I now wish I had died in that car accident.”

He arrived at Bedford on September 27 and was scheduled to go under the knife on October 10. This did not occur with the department saying the operation was postponed as the hospital was flooded by heavy rains that week.

The following week he could also not be operated on.

He said: “The health officials did a CTC scan on Thursday at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital and the doctor said because of internal bleeding there is a blood clot where my leg is broken which is now causing my bones to rot.

“They gave me a paper to give to the surgeon in Bedford so that he could conduct an operation immediately.

“When I came back to Bedford I was told the surgeon was going on leave. He is now on leave and I am just sitting here without a doctor,” Diko said.

Responding to Diko’s latest remarks Eastern Cape health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “The latest indication is that he is going to be operated on next week.”

subscribe

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.