Patient dies outside hospital minutes after being discharged

Prince Radebe was weak, could hardly walk and had difficulty breathing when he was rushed to Pholosong hospital in Tsakani, Ekurhuleni.

But a few hours later, in the early hours of Friday morning, the hospital discharged him and gave him medication.

His body was found next to a school near the hospital around 6am.

His grieving mother Annah Msiza, 63, said she was shocked when police came knocking on her door to inform her about her son’s death.

“They explained that his body was found by a passerby in the street next to a school which is located close to the hospital.

“I could not understand how his body ended up there because as far as I knew he was supposed to be in hospital receiving treatment because he was very sick when the ambulance took him a few hours earlier,” she added.

Msiza told Scrolla.Africa that her 41-year-old son started complaining of severe chest pains and was struggling to breathe around midnight.

She says she immediately called an ambulance which arrived at 1am and took him to hospital.

“We could see that he was in great pain but hoped that he would recover with the help of the doctors and come back home,” she explained.

Msiza wants answers from the hospital and wants those responsible to be held accountable.

“For him to have collapsed and died not far from the hospital shows that he was still very sick and still needed medical attention.

“Their actions have brought us a lot of pain. Seeing my son’s body in that state has traumatised me and this will haunt me for a long time,” she added.

Pholosong Hospital spokesperson Thabisile Mkhwanazi said the patient was attended to by the doctor at the hospital.

“After consultation, he was given medication to take home in a stable condition.