What might cause healthcare facilities to refuse patients?
Evidently, in the past few years, this phenomenon has become very prevalent, leading many heavily pregnant women to give birth everywhere else but a hospital bed, putting the lives of both the mother and the baby at grave risk.
South African hospitals have made headlines frequently for doing just that. When this occurs, hospitals may be at risk of liability.
According to Kirstie Haslam, a partner at DSC Attorneys, there are instances in which hospitals can be held accountable for turning away pregnant patients or refusing to treat patients in need of emergency care.
Sadly, there are numerous instances of South African hospitals turning away pregnant patients. Haslam mentions a few recent incidents.
Woman gives birth in hospital car park
In 2021, a young woman in premature labour was allegedly killed by staff at Helderberg Hospital in Somerset West. Staff refused to leave the hospital to help in spite of repeated requests from a woman who was driving the pregnant woman in her car.
The woman was forced to give birth in the car park and the baby died.
Woman in labour turned away for being “too old”
In 2019, a 45-year-old pregnant woman was turned away from the Stanza Bopape Clinic in Mamelodi, Tshwane. The woman was allegedly told that she couldn’t give birth at the clinic because she was too old and considered high risk.
The delay meant the woman’s waters broke and she gave birth outside the clinic gate.
It was only then that the staff realised that the situation was serious and came to assist her.
Woman forced to give birth outside clinic
In 2019, a 29-year-old pregnant woman was allegedly turned away twice by security guards at the Marulaneng Clinic because she’d forgotten her clinic card despite being in pain.
She was forced to walk home to collect it and she started to bleed. When she returned to the clinic with her mother, she was told no-one was on duty to help her.
While they waited, the woman gave birth outside in the rain. The security guards then called the nurses to assist but it was too late. The baby was pronounced dead.
Woman gives birth at a station after being turned away by three hospitals
In 2017, a Congolese woman was forced to give birth at Park Station in Joburg. She was allegedly turned away from three hospitals because she’s an asylum seeker. Even after she gave birth on the station floor, a third hospital refused her care.
The Constitution ensures asylum seekers have the right to the same emergency medical care as South African citizens, including maternity care.
According to Haslam, the law in South Africa is clear regarding a person’s right to receive emergency medical care, including how it relates to women who are giving birth.
No one in South Africa may be denied emergency medical treatment in accordance with the right to basic emergency care under Section 27(3) of the South African Constitution.
A medical emergency is defined as an acute injury, illness, or medical condition that necessitates immediate medical attention due to a threat to the patient’s life or long-term health. This includes giving labouring women emergency care.
There are, in fact, exceptions to refusing treatment to patients:
- when the patient has no insurance, and the situation is not a medical emergency.
- if the hospital is under-resourced (overcrowded, no beds, inadequate staff)
- when the hospital believes the patient would receive better treatment elsewhere.
- if the hospital doesn’t have the correct equipment to treat the patient properly.
Medical malpractice cases are rarely straight forward. If a patient is denied care, certain factors help determine liability.
A hospital or doctor is responsible if they fail to treat a patient who arrives in a critical condition and that neglect causes the patient to die or suffer serious harm.
Refusing to treat a patient for reasons of discrimination, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality.
Investigating whether the case was serious and whether the hospital had enough resources to handle the emergency.
Haslam asserts that a personal injury claim may be made against a hospital or specific medical professionals if a hospital’s refusal to admit a woman in labour directly results in injury to the mother or her child and a breach of the generally accepted standards of care.
An individual may file a personal injury claim against the State, typically the Department of Health, in the case of a government medical facility.
“It is therefore advisable for claimants to seek the assistance of an attorney that has extensive experience in medical malpractice to assist with claim, presses.”
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