‘Patient load’ leaves pregnant women sleeping on chairs at Rahima Moosa
Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital has admitted some patients are forced to sleep on chairs due to a shortage of space in admission wards.
The hospital hit the headlines on Saturday morning after a video of pregnant women sleeping on the floor was shared on social media.
In a video by the MMC for Health and Social Development in Joburg, Ashley Sauls, the women can be seen sleeping on the floor of a hospital passage with little to no blankets.
Sauls posted a video of the incident, captured in the early hours of Saturday morning, on social media.
He alleges that the women have been sleeping on the floor for up to three days.
“I went there immediately and sadly found it to be true. We cannot allow this to continue. We must restore the heart of service,” wrote Sauls.
In a statement sent to Jacaranda FM news, the hospital admitted that some patients are accommodated on chairs.
“The hospital does not have a policy of turning away patients. We receive and treat patients as they arrive at the facility and refer where possible. Patients are unfortunately accommodated on chairs at night if we are at capacity, those that were on chairs in the video are now in beds in wards.
“Patients don’t usually spend more than two nights in a chair - it is distressing for both workers and patients as we struggle to care for them as we would like to,” said the hospital management in a statement.
It is not clear if Sauls had the consent of the women in the video to share the footage on social media, and Jacaranda FM News has chosen not to publish the video due to privacy and dignity considerations.
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