Niël Terblanché
THE gross mistreatment of an elderly woman by three nurses resulted in them being removed from direct patient care while the incident of abuse that was captured on video by another patient at the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital is under investigation.
The Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe in a statement confirmed that the incident and said that the actions of the nurses involved constitute gross mistreatment of a patient and assault. He said the incident is currently under investigation.
“We condemn, in the strongest terms, this callous and heartless act against an elderly patient placed in our hands for care,” he said in the statement.
He stated that the ministry has commenced with appropriate steps as provided for in the Public Service Act and that the investigation is aimed at establishing all the relevant facts for appropriate final action against the nurses.
“The ministry has informed the Public Service Commission about the incident and has also reported that matter to the Health Professional Council of Namibia,” he said.
He indicated that he has personally reached out to the patient’s family to assure and inform them about the steps that will have to be taken and offer sincere apologies from the health ministry for the inhumane treatment she had to endure.
At the same time, Nangombe called on any person, who may have more information about this unfortunate incident to come forward.
He said that such information with all the necessary confidentiality.
“The ministry is committed to providing quality public health care services with compassion and to treat all our clients and patients with integrity and empathy,” he said.
Nangombe said information about the incident can be relayed to Francina Tjituka at 081 240 6228.
