EMALAHLENI – A family of the late Jabulani Mahlangu threatens to sue the Health Department after an operation gone wrong.
Mahlangu, 31, from Delmas, Eloff Sundra Farm also known as Tikiline, was reportedly admitted at Bernice Hospital in Delmas on 6 April in the morning suffering from Haemorrrhagic CVA and he was then transferred to Witbank Hospital where he lost his life due to an emergency operation on 12 April. His family cried that they didn’t consent that he be operated.
Mahlangu’s mother, Elizabeth, said: “They performed an operation to my son without informing me. My son was not in critical condition when he was admitted at Witbank Hospital. We even phoned the reception to find out about his condition and we were told that everything was fine and he would be discharged soon.”
Elizabeth believes that a consent form should be signed by a family member before an operation is carried out. “I am in deep pain for the loss of my son. I am told that my son died in the morning but the hospital only called us at 15:15. I am not happy about the way the hospital handled my son’s matter. We want to sue them,” she said.
Health spokesperson, Dumasani Malamule, said that Mahlangu had an internal bleeding in his brain and had to be operated. “Because of the swelling in the brain, the patient had to be operated to relieve the pressure caused by the bleeding. It was an emergency matter and the doctor had to sign a consent form on behalf of the patient who was unconscious,” Malamule said.
“By law, the clinical manager or CEO with clinical background can sign a consent form for an operation for a patient if they have to save life,” he said. Mahlangu was laid to rest on 18 April in Pimville, Springs.
