Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
Images by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital has three months to facilitate the burial of a patient who was buried poor.
- Acting Public Protector lawyer Kholeka Gcaleka found that the hospital did not issue the death notice as required.
- The hospital buried Nhlakanipho Sibusiso Goqo without informing his family.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital was given 90 days to facilitate the exhumation and burial of a deceased patient.
Acting public defender Kholeka Gcaleka found that the hospital failed to notify Nhlakanipho Sibusiso Goqo’s family of his death and ultimately gave him a poor burial.
Gcaleka released several investigative reports on Friday.
Goqo was buried on February 4, 2020 by Homeward Bound Funeral Home. He was admitted to the hospital on November 14, 2019 and died on November 23, 2019.
Baragwanath never notified his family of his death and subsequent burial due to incomplete details about his residential address.
Evidence indicates that Goqo’s body lay in the hospital’s mortuary for more than 30 days before being buried like a pauper while family members searched for him.
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Gcaleka found that the hospital failed to comply with the provisions of Baragwanath Hospital Circular 35 of 2017 to compile and publish Goqo’s death notice in local newspapers through the office of the hospital’s public relations officer, Nkosiyethu Mazibuko.
There was no evidence that the hospital made a list of unclaimed bodies available to Mazibuko for publication in the media, Gcaleka found.
“Although the Baragwanath hospital management indicated that it has since put measures in place, it was established that no formal process existed at the time of Goqo’s death,” it said.
Gcaleka also found that the CEO, Dr. Nkele Lesia, endorsed the practice whereby the director of logistics oversaw and signed off the burial process for the indigent as the health officer, although there was no formal delegation to the matter.
appropriate corrective action
“Baragwanath Hospital’s conduct constitutes maladministration related to the failure to publicize the death notice as required. Appropriate corrective action is taken. [that] within 90 calendar days following the issuance of this report [Lesia] to facilitate the exhumation and burial of the body in consultation with the family.
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“…and also obtain the authorization of the local government in whose jurisdiction the exhumation and new burial will be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the National Health Law,” Gcaleka said.
Likewise, the hospital was ordered, within 90 calendar days following the issuance of this report, to review and adapt Circular 35 of 2017 under the heading “Procedure for the care of indigent and indigent corpses” regarding burial periods destitute
The Ombudsman’s Office has taken note that the hospital has already acknowledged that it did not publish the list of burials for the poor.
For this reason, it has implemented measures to correct these processes by drawing up a standard operating procedure for mortuary services and designing a quality improvement plan.
The Public Protector Act provides that persons involved in an investigation by the Public Protector must have the opportunity to make statements.
A reply was received from Lesia on December 14, 2022.
After receiving Lesia’s answer, Gcaleka then ruled against the hospital.
