Distressed woman in Wentworth Hospital viral video has died

A seemingly distressed and terrified Rowena Hawkey from Berea area is seen in a clip telling fellow patients she can't breathe and calls for someone to hand her inhaler.

Other patients can be seen sleeping on the floor and on chairs. 

But no medical staff appear on the footage.

Hawkey's nephew, Allon Pretorius says his 67-year old aunt was taken to the hospital last week Monday because she was having problems breathing and her Asthma pump wasn't helping.

He says she was admitted the following day, and her daughter, Theresa, was told to come back at a later stage.

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Pretorius says Theresa returned to the hospital on Friday after not having heard from the facility. 

He says when she arrived, she was told her mother had died of a heart attack two earlier, "We were totally shocked that the hospital will not let the family know. We only heard on Saturday morning."

"It was only after that, did the video turn up and we don't even know who took the video. So I was shocked when I saw it, I immediately recognised her," he adds. 

Pretorius says the video has left them all traumatised. "We haven't informed my mother, her oldest sister because she is in frail care in Port Elizabeth." 

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Yesterday, The Health MEC said at the time of the incident, the hospital was severely understaffed and several of the doctors and nurses were in isolation.

She says a probe has been launched after a team from head office was sent there to establish the facts.