Health department to investigate Mamelodi Hospital
The national and provincial health departments have
expressed their shock over the ill-treatment of 76-year old Martha Marais at
the Mamelodi Hospital.
This comes after a video was released on social media, showing the elderly woman being handcuffed under steel chairs at the hospital.
Her daughter can be heard shouting: "This is my mother, man. This is not a dog. Is it right for me to come and find my mother like this? Is this right? She is 76 years old, and this is what you are doing to her."
Virginia Keppler, who is the niece of Marais, posted the pictures on social media and wrote:
"This is my aunty Martha Marais, 76, my best friend Stephnie Marais mother. Staff at the Mamelodi Hospital tied her hands behind her back and to these chairs, forcing her to lie down on the cold floor since Tuesday night. Nursing staff ignored her cries for help. Disgraceful!"
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
This is aunty Martha Marais, She is 76 years old. Nursing staff at the Mamelodi Hospital tied her hands behind her back and to these chairs, forcing her to to lay on the cold floor since Tuesday night. Whoever made this decision should be fired and serve a jail term pic.twitter.com/GwGVVrk0Yp
— Dj Jazzy D (@djjazzyd) 30 May 2019
The department says an investigation into the matter has been lodged to determine what led to the incident.
"We must maintain dignity of our patients and our officials should maintain high level of professionalism. At face value, it appears that the patient was ill-treated, and the standard operating procedure was not followed to the latter," the Gauteng Health Department said in a statement.