Five nurses have been suspended at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital following an incident that was caught on video involving a 28-year-old patient who died.
The Health Department could not divulge what was on the video by Wednesday night when the suspensions were announced.
The Star can reveal that the five health care workers were on duty when the video was shot. They were subsequently placed on precautionary suspension for gross negligence.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, said the suspensions were to allow hospital officials to conduct an investigation into the incident.
The incident took place on Sunday, February 25, however, the nurses were suspended on Wednesday, he said.
“This emanates from an incident at the hospital involving a 28-year-old man, captured on video by a member of the public at the Emergency Unit on Sunday, February 25, 2024.
“The employees have since been suspended to allow for further investigation into the incident … sadly the patient died while in hospital,” Modiba said.
The incident took place at a time when the hospital was “strengthening interventions to improve patients’ experience of care”, he said.
“Those measures include the launch of the Gauteng Department of Health’s ‘I Serve with A Smile Campaign’ which is a change management programme aimed at improving staff attitude and quality of services.
“In addition, the hospital management has been conducting frequent walk-abouts across various departments within the hospital to assess the level of service delivery and to interact with patients... in a bid to promote harmony in the workplace. The facility management is also strengthening the working relations with organised labour within the facility.”
Counselling services have been offered to the deceased man’s family.
“The facility management continues to engage the affected family to enable the redress process to unfold,” Modiba said.
The Star
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za