Family of screaming woman in Wentworth Hospital viral video seeks legal advice
The nephew of the 67-year-old woman, seen in a video screaming for help at Wentworth Hospital says the family is discussing possible legal action after she died at the facility.
In the clip going viral on social media, a seemingly terrified Rowena Hawkey from the Berea area tells fellow patients she can't breathe and calls for someone to hand her an inhaler.
In the video, other patients are seen sleeping on the floor and on chairs while there are no nurses or doctors visible.
Hawkey was taken to hospital last week Monday with breathing issues and was admitted.
READ: Health Dep launches probe into Wentworth Hospital after shocking video emerges
Her daughter, Theresa was told to come back at a later stage but did not hear from the hospital. She says when she didn't hear anything, she went back to the hospital on Friday, only to be told that her mother had died of a heart attack on Wednesday.
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Hawkey's nephew, Allon Pretorius, says they've started planning her funeral.
"We are discussing it as a family to decide on whether we are going to take legal action if we are able to. We have contacted a law firm and we are waiting for feedback from them. We sent the information we have and we are waiting to hear from them if they will take it on or whether we have a foot to stand on."
