‘No comment’ speaks volumes
We speak on behalf of many who otherwise would have no voice or listening ear
NEWSPAPERS such as ours feel extremely frustrated when requests for comments are not responded to.
Not that we have a right to demand that our priority must become everybody else’s priority, but because we speak on behalf of many who otherwise would have no voice or listening ear.
A case in point was a story in our immediate past edition, concerning the suspension of Ngwelezana Hospital’s head of department for general surgery – the only person suitably qualified to perform or oversee certain complex surgical procedures.
The response from the Department of Health spokesperson to our email was courteous but curt, confirming the suspension ‘pending the completion of an internal enquiry’.
Obviously, that enquiry cannot be prejudiced by full disclosure of the matter in the media, before it is settled one way or the other.
It is understood the rights and wrongs of the suspension are not at this stage for the public domain.
(One trust these are real, substantial charges and not simply the outcome of personality clashes or vendettas.)
However, other seriously vital questions were not responded to: questions that could literally mean life or death for a patient requiring urgent surgical intervention.
These included:
Will service delivery (patients) be adversely affected by his suspension?
As he is the only consultant surgeon, will critical patients have to be attended to in Durban or elsewhere?
Who will act in a temporary capacity for him while the suspension proceeds?
How long is the period of suspension envisaged to take?
This is far from being merely an internal disciplinary matter.
Assurances need to be given to patients and their families on these issues.
In cases of medical emergency, time is of the essence.
Ambulances are not always available, and if a patient must be transferred to Durban, for example, they might well succumb along the way.
Also, if patients such as gunshot or motor crash victims with internal injuries, who are not on medical aid, must be transferred from private hospitals to Ngwelezana, what happens if there are no qualified surgeons to operate?
Once again, the public needs reassurance.
Will they get the care they deserve…before it is too late?
