Health Ombud reveals shocking neglect leading to two deaths at Northern Cape hospitals
The Health Ombud, Professor Taole Mokoena, will release the findings of an investigation into the treatment, complications, and deaths of psychiatric patients at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital and the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital.
Image: GCIS
Health Ombud, Professor Taole Mokoena's investigation into the treatment of psychiatric patients at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital (NCMHH) and the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH), found that the general care provided was “substandard,” with two patients dying and another left bedridden following brain surgery.
The investigation was launched following a complaint by Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi in October 2024.
The incidents, which occurred in July and August 2024, were investigated in terms of Section 81A (11) of the National Health Amendment Act, 2013. The report revealed gross mismanagement, failure to provide urgent medical care, lack of functional equipment, and extreme infrastructural deficiencies.
Mokoena said: “The investigation concluded that the general care provided at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital and the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital to the patients was substandard, and patients were not attended to in a manner consistent with the nature and severity of their health condition, as required by Regulation 5 (1) of the Norms and Standards Regulations Applicable to Different Categories of Health Establishments, 2018.”
One of the patients, Cyprian Mohoto, was transferred from NCMHH to RMSH on July 13, 2024, with a suspected abdominal obstruction.
Tests showed he had pneumonia, which went untreated for three days until his death. The report found: “His deteriorating clinical status was never attended to by either the nursing personnel or the doctors.”
Mohoto died on July 16, 2024, in the Emergency Centre at RMSH.
Health Ombud says patients died needlessly at Northern Cape hospitals due to non-functional equipment, poor leadership, and year-long power outages that left vulnerable psychiatric patients exposed, unmonitored, and untreated.
Image: Pixabay
In another case, Tshepo Mdimbaza was found unresponsive in bed at NCMHH on August 3, 2024. Resuscitation was delayed due to non-functional equipment.
Mokoena noted, “The resuscitation process was delayed due to the unavailability, malfunction, or unpreparedness of resuscitation equipment.”
A post-mortem determined he died from “exposure to the elements.”
Petrus De Bruin collapsed at NCMHH on July 30, 2024 and was transferred to RMSH. The report found that: “The medical care and investigations conducted in the Emergency Centre were appropriate. However, the monitoring by nursing personnel was found to be inadequate.”
A fourth patient, John Louw, was diagnosed with an acute subdural haemorrhage. He underwent craniotomy and craniectomy procedures and was returned to NCMHH on October 28, 2024. He currently remains bedridden, said Mokoena.
The Ombud highlighted broader systemic and infrastructural breakdowns at NCMHH.
The hospital suffered a year-long electricity outage due to cable theft and failures in the Provincial Department of Health’s supply-chain management. As a result, heating, ventilation, and emergency systems could not function.
“The delay in repairing the electricity supply to NCMHH was due to dysfunctional Supply Chain Management processes within the Provincial Department of Health.”
“The available resuscitation equipment was not operational, as it could not be charged, and other necessary equipment was unavailable for use,” the report found.
Furthermore, “NCMHH procured poor quality pyjamas and blankets which were inadequate to provide warmth to patients during the severe winter’s cold, especially at night.”
Leadership failures were also identified. “Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital was found to have poor governance and systemic lack of leadership and poor management at all levels,” the Ombud said.
At RMSH, there was a “critical staff shortage across the board; lack of oversight with nursing supervision; communication breakdown of reporting systems,” and “overcrowding at the hospital emergency centre.”
Mokoena made a series of urgent recommendations including that the Provincial Head of Department of Health must immediately appoint a Task Team to monitor the implementation of the recommendations as outlined in the report.
The Ombud also called for formal disciplinary action against officials found in breach of their duties, and a forensic investigation into NCMHH’s procurement processes.
Further recommendations include the creation and enforcement of proper Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), protocols, and guidelines to improve care.
Cape Times