South Africa: KZN Patient Was Told to Leave Clinic While Waiting for Ambulance
[Health-e] KZN patient waited 10 hours for ambulance transfer from clinic. When none arrived, she was told to leave the clinic at night. The incident comes amid ambulance shortages and delays in the province.
Sthembile Mkhize, a 30-year-old woman from KwaNyuswa in KwaZulu-Natal, claims she was asked to leave her local clinic in the middle of the night while waiting for an ambulance. Mkhize visited the Halley Stott Clinic around 3pm on September 10th, complaining of abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe weakness. She was taken to the high care unit and placed on a drip, with nurses informing her an ambulance had been called.
However, the ambulance did not arrive, and Mkhize was eventually asked to leave the clinic at around 1am. She says she was pressured to sign a form that she did not have time to read, which she believes could have been a release form stating she had refused treatment. Mkhize and her boyfriend waited outside the clinic until daylight before taking a taxi home.
Mkhize returned to the clinic the next day, only for the same ambulance to arrive later and transfer her to St Mary's Hospital. She was diagnosed with an intestinal parasite, received treatment, and was discharged later that night. Despite being assured help for follow-up care, Mkhize is now too afraid to return to Halley Stott Clinic, citing staff talking behind her back and potential referral letter issues.
This incident highlights ongoing concerns about ambulance shortages and response times in KwaZulu-Natal, with only 248 of the province's 448 ambulances operational as of May 21st.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
