The Department of Health in the North West has issued an apology to a family after a mix-up led to the wrong family being informed of a loved one's death.
Seventy-two-year-old Dorothy Magape, a resident from Delareyville, had been taken to the Gelukspan Hospital for treatment. When a relative went to visit her, she was informed that the elderly woman had passed away.
According to reports, the relative, Nsomanga Skosana, was too traumatised to view the body at the time.
Skosana duly informed her family and others of Magape's death.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the family said they had started to make funeral arrangements and that neighbours had come to sympathise while relatives living further away and begun making travel plans to attend the funeral.
The family was shocked to have received a call from a hospital porter that Magape was still alive. Magape was later discharged from hospital.
The hospital said the mix-up was as a result of Magape and the deceased patient sharing a similar surname.
Speaking to IOL, spokesperson at the Department of Health in the North West, Tshegofatso Mothibedi, said an investigation is under way.
"As the department, we instituted an investigation at the said hospital after we were informed of the incident. After we gathered facts, we can confirm that a nurse on shift, did mix-up files and informed the wrong family that their loved one had passed on. But upon realising that she had mixed-up files and made a mistake, she promptly corrected this," he said.
Mothibedi said a delegation led by the hospital's CEO and other senior officials, visited the family to apologise.
"Currently, we are offering the family counselling and we made it known to the family we will assist them during this trying times. The hospital has since put stringent measures in place, to ensure this does not happen again," he said.
IOL News