Woman pleading for help in viral video at Durban hospital passes away

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 12:34 PM by Reeshni Chetty

- A Durban lady who was filmed screaming for help at Wentworth Hospital reportedly died the day after the video was recorded

- Rowena Hawkey, 69, was admitted to the facility after facing difficulty while breathing with no alleviation from her asthma pump

- The family reportedly found out about Hawkey's death on 8 January when her daughter went to visit but she had died on 6 January

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The elderly lady who was recorded screaming for help at a Durban hospital has passed away. 69-year-old Rowena Hawkey was admitted to Wentworth Hospital after facing breathing difficulties that her asthma pump did not help with.

Hawkey resided in the Berea area with her daughter, Teresa. Teresa had taken her mother to Wentworth Hospital and had received no communication from the hospital about her mother's state of health.

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Shortly after the disturbing video of Hawkey pleading for help was recorded, she passed away.

Woman, pleading for help in viral video, passes away — The elderly woman who was recorded screaming for help at Wentworth Hospital in Durban has died. Image: kznhealth.gov.za
Source: UGC

According to a report by IOL, Hawkey's nephew, Allon Pretorius, stated that Teresa had only found out about her mother's death on Friday, 8 January when she went to visit her. Hawkey had passed on Wednesday, 6 January.

The Witness reported that the Department of Health confirmed on Monday that the hospital in question is in fact, Wentworth Hospital. Pretorius also stated to The Witness that the family had only seen the video of Hawkey on Monday. He added that it was distressing.

Previously, Briefly.co.za had reported that Wentworth Hospital is being looked into after a patient was filmed crying for help, saying that she cannot breathe. The hospital, facing overcrowding with Covid-19 patients and high rates of absenteeism by staff members, is being looked into after pictures of patients lying on the floor and a recording of a woman crying for help was shared online.

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In the clip, the woman, now identified as Rowena Hawkey, can be heard begging for help stating that she was experiencing difficulties breathing. She pleaded for someone to hand her the asthma pump which seemed to be just out of arms reach.

Durban hospitals have been making headlines recently as Briefly.co.za previously reported on RK Khan hospital's line of funeral parlour vehicles. The video starts at the entrance of the hospital where people are lined up and shows vehicle after vehicle as the person behind the video drives.

The first video was shared by @TholahNdlovu. A second video of more funeral parlour vehicles parked opposite the hospital was shared under the original by @wanda2_. The reality of Covid-19 hit many South Africans thanks to the above. Take a look at some of their responses below:

@BabesKonono shared:

"Let me tell you what we were told at the Hospital. "Now if you come in frail, with a bad health history, we can't do much for you since chances of survival are slim, so we divert our resources to those with a high chance of survival. We went to fetch my aunt's body."