Gauteng Man Fears Death After Helen Joseph Hospital Discharges Him From Ward With Open Wound for a 2nd Time
What was supposed to be a routine surgery at Helen Joseph Hospital has turned into a waking nightmare for 32-year-old Maate Benon Daaki, who now sits with an open wound in his stomach.
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Source: UGC
Gauteng resident Maate Benon Daaki's life has been a living hell for the past four weeks with little signs of hope. On 10 January, Daaki went to Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg after experiencing stomach pain.
The doctors decided to admit him for routine surgery because he had a bowel obstruction. However, Daaki says the doctors never explained what caused the bowel obstruction.
Speaking to Briefly News, Daaki's sister-in-law, Ncumisa Stemela, 41, stated that Daaki's surgery was postponed for two days because the hospital said they did not have blood that matched his blood type.
Daaki was finally taken into surgery on Thursday, 12 January, which was only the beginning of his nightmare.
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Maate Benon Daaki's family complains about mistreatment at Helen Joseph Hospital
Daaki's sister-in-law has been a strong advocate for his case and was surprised to see the state her brother-in-law was left in after his surgery.
Stemela stated that the doctor who operated on Daaki only visited him the day after the surgery on Friday, 13 January, but he was not checked on for the whole weekend.
Source: UGC
Daaki's family complained to nurses when they realised that his wound was changing colour and starting to rot, but they were met with rude responses instead.
Daaki explains that he felt neglected by the nurses who were supposed to take care of him over the weekend.
"The doctors went away for the weekend and left me in the care of nurses whom I'd say neglected me because I was in pain. My drip came off and I requested another one but that was in vain," said Daaki.
When the doctors returned on Monday, 16 January, they told Daaki that he had developed an infection and had to return to the theatre for another surgery.
"When the doctors came, my wound was smelling and fluids flowing everywhere. I was told I've developed an infection which called for another operation," Daaki states.
The surgery only took place two days later on 18 January.
Daaki and his family were shocked to realise that he was left with an open wound in his stomach following the surgery, but the doctors informed him that they could not stitch him up due to the nature of the infection.
"The operation went well but they never stitched my wound, and I was told it was due to the infection they're still treating," says Daaki.
Helen Joseph Hospital discharges Daaki with an open wound
Daaki's sister-in-law tried her best to advocate for his well-being even though he feared further ill-treatment from the hospital.
Source: Twitter
At the request of Daaki's family, Briefly News also reached out to the hospital and the Gauteng Department of Health to find out why the hospital had not been taking care of a patient with an open wound that had already begun to rot.
That is when Daaki says the hospital quality assurance team visited him and assured him that he would be taken care of.
However, the following day, Daaki was discharged on 26 January, which frustrated his family. His sister-in-law said:
"They were supposed to keep in the hospital for months, so they can get this right. Now they discharged him, who will look after him when all the pus and blood are coming out?
"All his clothes were full of pus and blood. It is a trauma for us as a family because this was the first time we'd seen such an operation. We have seen people who had operations but at least they stitch them," explains Stemela.
Stemela wishes the hospital staff had explained and prepared them about what to expect post-operation because they had no idea how to look after him.
Daaki says he tried to protest the decision to discharge him because he had an open wound, but he was simply handed medication to clean the wound and told to go to the nearest clinic to have the wound dressed.
"I didn't want to be discharged, because when I woke on Tuesday, my health was a total mess," explains Daaki.
Maate Benon Daaki finds himself back at Helen Joseph Hospital
Daaki's situation only worsened after he was discharged from the hospital. Stemela explains that over the weekend after he was discharged, he was taken to a clinic to have the wound dressed and it was wrapped in a type of plastic.
To their surprise, the plastic melted off and that is when they realised he needed to be admitted again because he was also in a considerable amount of pain.
Daaki says he is currently in a considerable amount of pain and still does not understand why he was left with an open wound.
"My plea is to be treated well. I need a well-detailed explanation about my operation and why till today my wound is still wide open. The pain I am feeling is unbearable but I have no choice but to bear it," said Daaki.
When he returned to the hospital on Wednesday, 1 February he was told that he could have developed another infection. Daaki's nightmare continues and hopes that the doctors will close his wound and offer up an explanation soon.
Briefly News reached out to the Helen Joseph Hospital for comment but had not responded at the time of publishing. The article will be updated at a later stage in the event the hospital gives us comment.
SA reacts to surgeon and volunteers resigning at Helen Joseph due to toxic work culture: “This is so upsetting”
Professor Carol-Ann Benn, an acclaimed cancer specialist and surgeon, resigned from the Helen Joseph Hospital. The aftermath of her departure raised alarms that the public sector is losing experts in Gauteng.
Those in the know claimed that the working environment and culture at the hospital were not conducive and had patriarchal systems and people competing for power. It was also said that the hospital struggled to keep staff and provide quality care for patients due to operational limitations.
According to News24, Benn was a founding director of an NPO at the Helen Joseph Hospital and ended her 17-year tenure at the health facility at the end of September.
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Source: Briefly News
