Question NW3362 to the Minister of Health
14 October 2022 - NW3362
Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health
Whether, in view of the time that had lapsed since he was advised of the issue of Mr Sipho Bulose, prison number 201181097, any steps have been taken in this regard; if not, why not; if so, on what date does he intend to intervene and ensure adequate medical care is granted to the person?
Reply:
The KwaZulu Department of Health indicates that the Honourable Member was informed of the difficulty to trace the complainant, as the contact number that the complainant was not reachable on the contact number that the Honourable Member had provided to the department. The hospital as well as the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial office contacted the complainant on several occasions to obtain additional information from the complainant as the information provided was not sufficient to facilitate investigation. Mr Thulani Bulose did not answer his cell phone every time he was contacted, the calls went to voicemail. The following information is required to enable King Edward hospital to investigate the complaint:
- Alternative contact details of the complainant, Mr Thulani Bulose (e-mail address or another cell number)
- ID number of patient (Mr Sipho Bulose)
- Hospital number of patient (Mr Sipho Bulose)
- Dates and ward/s at which patient (Mr Sipho Bulose) was admitted at King Edward Hospital
- Clarity on the assistance that is sought from King Edward Hospital
A request was made to the Honourable Member to provide alternative contact details of the complainant to enable the hospital to contact the complainant to obtain the additional information. The Honourable Member provided a prison number of the patient instead. The hospital could not trace the patient file using the prison number as prison numbers are not used as a unique identifier for filing of patient files. The complaint was therefore closed as guided by the National Guideline to manage complaints, compliments and suggestions (2022) that states the following: ‘When additional information is required from the patient or family/supporting person to enable further investigation of the complaint, the patient or family/supporting person should be contacted to obtain the information. In instances where the patient or family/supporting person could not be reached on the first attempt, he/ she should be contacted at least twice thereafter for two consecutive weeks. If the patient or family/supporting person could still not be traced, the complaint can be seen as resolved (closed). In such circumstance the dates and the methods used to contact the patient or family/supporting person should be documented. The same applies when a patient or family/supporting person cannot be traced to conduct redress.’
A new complaint will be opened to investigate the complaint lodged by Mr Thulani Bulose when the information requested as outline is submitted.
END.