North West Hospital Probe Into Newborn Babies Kept in Cardboard Boxes Results in 5 Managers Being Transferred

• The preliminary investigation into the incident where four babies were kept in cardboard boxes at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital has yielded some results
• Five managers on duty on the day of the incident have been transferred to other hospitals pending the outcome of a full-scale investigation
• North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha said the incident boiled down to failed management function

MAHIKENG - Five managers from the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital have been transferred to other medical facilities following a preliminary probe.

The transfers follow an incident on Saturday, 20 May, in which four newborn babies were kept in cardboard boxes instead of incubators or crib beds.

Management initially said it was not notified about the incident on the day it happened.

The North West Department of Health released a statement that the report from the probe identified the five managers who were temporarily relocated to allow the subsequent investigation to unfold unhindered.

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North West Health MEC say cardboard box incident result of failed management function

North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha reportedly noted several failures from the preliminary investigation.

One was on the day of the incident, the hospital only had 47 cribs and incubators, while 56 newborn babies were delivered. Sambatha said the admission of more mothers than the hospital could cater for was a failed management function.

The health MEC said that the five transferred managers will be expected to give the department formal accountability, DailySun reported.

Sambatha added:

"We must now do a full investigation into the incident, but it is limited to the responsibilities of the five. These five will be informed by management on what we've decided to do."

South Africans don't believe the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital manager did anything wrong

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Below are some comments:

Dan Ayanda accused:

"MEC throwing managers under the bus for his administration's shortcomings."

MJ Lebetsa said:

"The lack of resources in hospitals is public knowledge."

Zethu Radebe claimed:

"Hospital work is like playing dice... If you turn them back and say you can accommodate only the 47 mothers, they complain and say, as a nurse, you must improvise."

Bryan Mayera commented:

"Respect for the managers for coming up with a plan."

Isaac Boloang added:

"I don't think the five managers are to be blamed for such incidents because they at least came up with an idea to accommodate a number of newborn babies who were born."

South African woman shares she paid R33k to give birth at private hospital without medical aid, peeps react

Earlier, Briefly News reported that medical aid is expensive these days, but having to fork out cash for private healthcare is even pricier

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Newborn babies kept in cardboard boxes at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital sparks outrage across Mzansi

One woman knows this all too well after sharing that she had to pay over R33 000 to give birth at a private hospital without medical aid.

A video posted by @ayamaah.k shows the hospital room the Johannesburg woman stayed in.

Source: Briefly News