Swazi Observer

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SUSPECT COVID-19 PATIENT DIES

By NONDUDUZO KUNENE | 2020-04-01

A patient who was deserted by doctors and nurses in one of the country’s private hospitals died on Monday.

It is alleged that the medical professionals ran away from the patient as she exhibited signs of a full blown coronavirus. This has been a norm with medical practitioners since the coronavirus outbreak in recent weeks.

According to a source close to the matter, the patient, a 33-year-old woman, was in a ward closer to the maternity ward of the hospital.

The other patients who heard about the news of the admitted COVID-19 suspect started to fear for their lives as they were scared that they were being exposed and in danger of contracting the virus.

Complaines

The source further revealed that doctors refused to attend to the patient and instructed nurses to attend to her.

However, it is alleged that the nurses also did not want to attend to her as they ran for their lives too and complained that they did not have personal protective equipment (PPE) fit to protect them from coronavirus.

Some of the staff members made frantic calls to the administrator to transfer the patient to Lubombo Referral Hospital outright without doing the necessary tests.

When the hospital administrator was reached for comment on the matter, he requested for a questionnaire, which he said he could only respond to today as he was in a meeting when he was reached through his cellphone.

Meanwhile, Minister of health Lizzie Nkosi said she would investigate the matter.

The minister appealed to healthcare workers to display positive behaviour at all times because it was sad when members of the public see health practioners fleeing from a patient.

Facilities

Nkosi said all healthcare facilities, whether private or public, should not admit COVID-19 suspects in the same ward with other patients.

She explained that every healthcare facility should have an isolation ward for coronavirus suspect cases. She said there was no way they could make patients share a ward with coronavirus suspect patients.

Nkosi said she noted that people now associate every illness with coronavirus, making an example of a recent incident at Mbabane Government Hospital where the facility was brought to a standstill after a coronavirus suspect was admitted. She stated that the patient turned out to be asthmatic.

“Only COVID- 19 patients are admitted at LubomboReferral hospital,” she said.

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