Neglect claims over maggots in Durban patient's mouth
A Durban man wants justice after his father - who was filmed lying in hospital with maggots crawling in his mouth - died yesterday.
Sadek Ebrahim was admitted to RK Khan hospital in Chatsworth about two weeks ago - to have his leg amputated.
His son - Azaad Ebrahim who recorded the video - says they found his father in a shocking state - when they visited him.
He says he called out to the nurses to help his father.
"When I told them the first time at 10am in the morning - and I screamed and yelled - nobody came into the room. I asked them to clean my father's mouth. I left the ward and when I returned after 20 minutes, expecting him to be cleaned - they left my uncle feeding my father with worms in his mouth. If they had done it at 10am, I wouldn't have had a chance to take the video," Ebrahim said.
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Azaad says he can't erase what he saw from his mind and doesn't want anyone else to experience what his father went through.
"I don't want other people to suffer. The hospital itself told me this hasn't been seen in 40 years. If its been done now, what's going to happen to my family that will need to go back to the hospital - as well as hundreds of people who use the hospital on a daily basis. There needs to be a change," Azaad said.
In an emailed response, the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department says the patient in question had a history of neglect - and suffered from a number of serious ailments.
The department says medical staff were concerned but not alarmed by certain developments during treatment - and did all they could to improve his condition.