Talk 27 August 2020

2 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 27 August 2020 TALK OF THE TOW N
Woman questions mom’s death
Covid-19 patient file error at PA Hospital denied
TK MTIKI
The daughter of a woman
who died in Port Alfred
Hospital last month, says
she has been left with many
questions over the “my s t e r i o u s ”
circumstances surrounding her
mother’s death.
Nontsikelelo Sikiti, from
Mfolozi, Kenton-on-Sea, said
her mother, Kliniwe Dama, had
died on July 29.
Sikiti, who has her father’s
surname because her parents
were married traditionally,
claims the hospital accidentally
treated her mother using
another patient’s file.
Sikiti said someone from the
hospital had phoned her and
apologised for the error.
She said her mother wa s
hospitalised on July 11, and was
placed in a Covid-19 patients’
ward with the assumption that
she had the virus. “They also put
her on a drip,” Sikiti said.
While Sikiti had thought her
mother was Covid-19 positive,
she said the hospital had
phoned her on July 20, and had
apologised, saying her mother’s
results were negative but that
she was accidentally treated
based on someone else’s file.
She said after the hospital
had admitted to the error, her
mother was moved to a medical
ward, where she died nine days
l a t e r.
A grieving Sikiti said her
mother was buried on August 8.
Sikiti said she had also
travelled back and forth to the
hospital trying to get her late
mother’s clothes, which had
gone missing there.
“I went to the medical ward
twice where she was admitted,
looking for her clothes, but they
cannot be found,” she said.
However, provincial health
department spokesperson
Siyanda Manana disputed the
claim that Dama was placed in
a Covid-19 ward. In response to
To T ’s questions, Manana said:
“The patient was admitted on
July 11 2020 in a critical
condition and also as a person
under investigation [PUI].”
He said: “Results for Covid
received on July 20. Patient
demised 18 days after Covid
diagnosis. She had comorbidities.
“According to records she
was tested on admission, and
while awaiting for results ,she
[was] treated as person under
investigation because all signs
were there,” he said.
In response to the swapped
files claim, Manana said: “Th e r e
was none of that.”
He added: “She was isolated
in a ward and was never put in a
ward with positive patients
because she was a suspect then
awaiting results.
“Once you are confirmed
positive, you get put in a
medical ward. She was
transferred to a medical ward,
which is a general ward, after
she recovered from the 14 days
isolation period,” he added.
He did not respond about
the missing clothing.
ROAD BLOCKED
Port Alfred police
praised by readers for
‘job well done’
¿
29 Miles St, Port Alfred
PO Box 2871, Port Alfred, 6170
046 624 4356 / Fax: 046 624 2293
Chris van Heerden, vanheerdenc@arena.africa
Jon Houzet, houzetj@talkofthetown.co.za
Anneli Hanstein, hansteina@arena.africa
TRAFFIC REDIRECTED: Bags of
cement strewn across Albany Road
hill, which was closed to traffic for
most of last Thursday afternoon after
a truck jack-knifed and lost its load,
blocking all lanes. Police and security
companies redirected traffic along
Causeway, Park Road and Park
Avenue. After the truck was moved,
the damaged bags of cement still
took some time to clean up P i c t u re :
BRETT SMITH
TK MTIKI
To t T ’s latest Facebook question was:
“The SAPS have been accused of
brutality during the lockdown. What is
your experience and observation?”
Readers were overwhelmingly
positive about local law enforcement, in
contrast to police minister Bheki Cele’s
report which showed that from March
to June, 49 cases of brutality were
reported against the police nationally.
Some local readers referred to
incidents of heavy-handed police action
around the country, including against
citizens accused of breaking lockdown
regulations in Cape Town and Durban,
but said the situation was quite different
in Ndlambe.
Mzwandile Pikoli praised the police,
and added that he observed all the
lockdown regulations.
“Only thing I know about them is
this, they were so visible and helpful.
We were like in heaven in my area
without any noise or something funny,”
he said.
“Thank you so much to them.
Without them we are nothing.”
Gary Purdon also sang the praises of
local SAPS members.
“All good in Port Alfred except the
garden police stopping me from cutting
my verge.
“A good job in any event. We have
generally a good bunch of officers in
Port Alfred,” he said.
In response to Purdon being stopped
from cutting his verge, Colleen Denniss
said: “Th a t ’s unbelievable. What would
the reasoning be? I think it’s just the case
of having the authority so use it. We
never had any problem.”
Sharing an experience similar to
Purdon’s, which occurred outside Port
Alfred, Brian Rogers stated: “In Durban
my neighbour reported me for the same
but I’d finished the job when the police
arrived and they just shrugged. So the
next day, because I like to poke the bear,
I cut my neighbour’s verge for him. No
complaint at all.”
Colin Parsons added a positive voice
about local police.
“We live in Bathurst [and] at every
roadblock that we went through the
SAPS were friendly, well-mannered and
most of all, smiling,” he said.
Joanne Brown attested to the many
kudos for the Port Alfred SAPS.
“Have only found the police in this
town pleasant and helpful,” she said.
Vanessa Nailbar agreed that Po r t
Alfred had decent police officers.
In support of Nailbar’s view, E l v i e ra
Kesia Valentine said: “Stem 180%”.
Though highlighting she knew
someone who was given a hard time by
the police, but only in questioning him,
Caryn Bruyns also said she did not
experience or observe any police
brutality in Port Alfred.
“He wasn’t manhandled or anything
though, just questioned. Basically I
think we are very lucky here as we have
very nice police,” she said.
ĂůŬŽŌŚĞŽŶĐŽĂ
ĂůŬŽĨŚĞŽŶ
ĂůŬŽĨŚĞŽŶŶĚůĂŵďĞ
ΛĂůŬŽŌŚĞŽŶĞĐ