A Tembisa businessman was placed in a COVID-19 ward before COVID-19 results were out. Shonisani Lethole died at Tembisa hospital after complaining of ill treatment and hunger at the medical facility.
Before his death, Shonisani tweeted the Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize complaining that he wasn’t given food for 48hrs despite his relatives bringing some.
Justice for Shoni has started trending on Twitter after a man named Shonisani Lethole was allegedly put in a Covid-19 hospital ward in Tembisa before his results were out.
The petition was started by one Adi Mistry Frost who was close to the Shoni incidents.
Shoni died at Tembisa Hospital near Johannesburg.
Reports indicate Shoni was put in a COVID-19 ward before his COVID-19 test results were received and passed away before his results were out and the family is still to be given his Covid-19 results.
It is also alleged Shoni spent first 48 hours in the hospital without being given any food despite the family bringing him meals, it is also alleged he was not given blankets and a wheel chair in the middle of winter.
According to an online petition trending on Twitter, Frost says Shoni did not receive the basic care that is expected at a public health facility.
Signatories to the petition want Lekopane Mogaladi, CEO of Tembisa Hospital, Bandile Masuku Gauteng Health MEC and Dr Zwelini Mkhize Minister of Health to:
1. Conduct an urgent investigation into the circumstances leading to Shoni’s death, provide a report and hold a meeting with the family by Wednesday 9th July 2020, and publish the same immediately after the family’s approval.
2. Clearly identify any failings in the way he was treated at Tembisa Hospital and make recommendations as to changes to practices that need to be made
3. Commit to immediately implementing those recommendations, and in so doing save the lives of other people receiving care at Tembisa Hospital
4. Provide a report on the progress of implementing those recommendations to the family on the 30th July 2020
Shoni’s family and friends are seeking for justice and hold medical professionals to account
” We want justice for Shoni, clearly he died of negligence we are in deep pain and we don’t wish any family and friends to suffer another loss in this manner. We do not yet know if he died of COVID-19 or related complications, but we are deeply concerned that there were failings in the care he received that may have contributed to his death”
Lethole family and friends calls for urgent changes in clinical practices at Tembisa Hospital
” Immediate changes need to be made in practices at Tembisa Hospital now. In the face of this pandemic we need our doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals more than ever. They need the resources to manage this, but we also need transparency about procedures followed so that people can trust their healthcare system. That trust is only possible through transparency and accountability.”
Shonisani Lethole died on Monday – a week after he was admitted with respiratory issues. Just days before his death, he took to Twitter – to complain about hunger and mistreatment at the facility.
Lethole’s girlfriend Mukundi Lambani could only communicate with him over the phone as hospital visits aren’t allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
She said he often complained about the conditions at Tembisa Hospital, calling it frightening.
“When we spoke, he said he was really having a hard time. He said they hadn’t fed him and said he was kept in a ward with other people who had passed on,” she said.
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Shonisani Lethole was well fed at Tembisa Hospital
The hospital says it has records and evidence showing that the 35-year-old was fed regularly since his admission to the facility, and was well treated.
Its CEO Lekopane Mogaladi explained: “We’ve got all the statements on record. Everything is there to actually show the patient was fed.”