{"id":58712,"date":"2016-10-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/echonews.sites.caxton.co.za\/58712\/man-dies-in-hospital\/"},"modified":"2016-10-28T12:14:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-28T10:14:51","slug":"man-dies-in-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2016\/10\/27\/man-dies-in-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Graphic Content: Man dies in hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr Johannes Masango died on Tuesday night. When the family wanted to take photos of the bedsores on his body, security guards acted aggressive and forced them to delete the photos.<\/p>\n

The Observer has been writing about the Middelburg Hospital since March this year after the family of Ms Claassen (77) discovered bedsores on her body. She was treated for a broken hip. A few weeks later she died of septicaemia, due to the bedsores she got in the hospital.<\/p>\n

This week history repeated itself when the family of Mr Masango went to the hospital shortly after he died.<\/p>\n

When they pulled the blankets away, they were shocked at what they found. He had a big bedsore on his buttocks and back and there were also bedsores on the heels of his feet.<\/p>\n

Mr Masango was admitted to hospital on 11 July because he could not walk. In September they contacted the Observer when they discovered the first bedsore.<\/p>\n

Mr Pat Mazibuku (CEO of the hospital) promised that the nursing manager will attend to the matter.<\/p>\n

When the Observer talked to Mr Mazibuku and Dr Ntuli on 4 October about Mr Masango, they told the journalist that the “bedsore is better and we are attending to it.”<\/p>\n

Mr Masango’s sister, Francina, said since the day he was admitted to hospital, the staff never told them what was wrong with him.<\/p>\n

“At one stage they said that he might have a brain tumour, but till this day, it was never confirmed.”<\/p>\n

His condition deteriorated week after week, until he died on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u2022 They are convinced that he died, like Ms Claassen, of septicaemia due to the bedsores and not as a result of the tumour.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Mr Masango’s death the family wanted to do an autopsy to determine if Mr Masango died of natural causes as the death certificate stated, or if he died of septicaemia due to the bedsores.<\/p>\n

They were told by the forensics department at the mortuary that an autopsy could only be done if an inquest is opened at the police.<\/p>\n

They went to the police to open an inquest, only to hear that they can not open an inquest because the death certificate states that he died of natural causes!<\/p>\n

His sister said that they are prepared to do a private autopsy to confirm their suspicions that he died of septicaemia. By the time of going to print they were still making arrangements for a private autopsy.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The funeral will be taking place on Saturday at 06:30 at the Tokologo cemetery.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In August this year Special Assignment broadcasted a programme about the allegations of maltreatment at the Middelburg Hospital. Journalist Adel van Niekerk did interviews with all the complainants at that time, as well as the journalist of the Middelburg Observer.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mr Pat Mazibuku (CEO, Middelburg Hospital) said that the matter will be investigated. He said that the family did not contact him after Mr Masango’s death to complain about the bedsores.<\/p>\n