Gauteng Health confirms child’s death while waiting for ambulance

Last week Monday, Oreratile Chabalala was admitted with breathing difficulties and chest pains.

The boy's condition worsened on Friday evening, prompting doctors to recommend a transfer to George Mukhari Academic Hospital.

However, Chabalala could not be moved from Odi Hospital due to the lack of an ICU ambulance with the necessary high-care equipment.

The child spent the day on a ventilator while waiting for an ICU ambulance to arrive and died shortly after it arrived on Saturday afternoon.

"Due to the unstable condition of the patient, the six-year-olds health was complicated while the hospital and paramedics were busy with a handover," said Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba

"The child went into cardiac arrest. Resuscitation was initiated on the patient, but unfortunately, they could not make it."

Modiba has refuted claims that the hospital does not have enough ambulances.

"The Gauteng Department of Health has also taken note of misleading information shared through the media, which seeks to suggest that there was no available ambulance to transport the patient to George Mukhari. This is far from the truth."

"Odi EMS has five intermediate ambulances daily that are sufficient to service emergency calls," he added

Meanwhile, Gauteng DA Shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom said the case highlights the hospital and ambulance crisis in Gauteng.

"His devastated family blamed the bed and ambulance shortage for delaying treatment that could have saved his life."

"The scandalous thing is that rural ambulances from Bronkhorstspruit have to be used to attend to calls from the George Mukhari, Steve Biko, Mamelodi and Odi hospitals. It is unbelievable that an ambulance is sent to pick up a patient 90 kilometres away," he added.

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