Topping the list of complaints received by the Rising Sun about the Lenasia South Clinic is one from Kishmetha Freshfield, who had to take her placenta home with her after giving birth.
Kishmetha Freshfield, went into labour in the early hours of Monday, September 17, and was rushed to the clinic. Mrs Freshfield was booked to give birth at the Baragwanath Academic Hospital, but gave birth in the car on her way to the Lenasia South Clinic, as that was the nearest facility.
According to Mrs Freshfield, when she arrived at the clinic, with her husband clutching their newborn baby girl, who still had her umbilical cord attached, Mrs Freshfield was made to wait for about ten minutes for security to confirm with the matron that she should be admitted.
After permission was granted, she walked to the maternity ward and her husband had to hold the baby and walk with her.
“Obviously I had just given birth so I was bleeding all over the floor, from the entrance right to the ward,” Mrs Freshfield said. “When I got onto the bed, the midwife was very rude to me. She kept shouting at me and even told me she would leave me as her shift was about to end. She slapped me on the thigh while stitching me up,” she said.
Mrs Freshfield said that after being stitched up, she was then ordered to clean up the mess. She used her nightgown to wipe up the blood on the floor as the clinic has not had water for a few weeks now.
“After wiping everything, I was given the afterbirth and told to take it home with me. I was shocked, but I wanted to leave, so I took it and rolled it up in my night gown.”
After being discharged, she says she was dealt another blow. The clinic had no vaccines for the baby so she had to return the following day.
“I just couldn’t believe it. My baby could have contracted a disease. When I returned the next day, they still did not have any vaccines,” she said.
The Rising Sun contacted the DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, Jack Bloom, for comment regarding the state of the clinic. Bloom noted that he had visited the clinic a number of times and said that he believed that the key problem was poor management and poor back-up from the Gauteng Department of Health.
“The filing room is a complete mess and should have been attended to long ago as files often go missing and waiting times are drastically increased. Proper discipline is needed to counteract the poor staff attitudes. This clinic sees more than 150 000 patients a year and needs to be upgraded as it is in a poor condition. I will continue to push for better conditions,” MEC Bloom said.
He did not address the issues regarding the water and the vaccine shortages.
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