Zodidi Mhlana

An investigation is under way following a complaint by a woman whose treatment was cut short and she was sent home because Livingstone Hospital did not have enough beds.

Phamela Maxhanti, 37, from Soweto on Sea, an elephantiasis sufferer, also claims that she was ill-treated by a doctor and discharged from hospital even though she was in a lot of pain.

“They told me to go home as they wanted to take in more people. I had a big sore and I was in pain,” she said.

Maxhanti has been wheelchair-bound since 1986 and says her condition has worsened. She cannot fit into her wheelchair since being discharged because her leg has swollen even more than before.

“I spend most of my days in bed, as I cannot fit into my wheelchair. I am in pain but I cannot go back to the hospital as the doctors and nurses ill-treat patients,” she said.

Maxhanti said after being discharged she discovered maggots in her wound, so she returned to Livingstone Hospital, but claims that doctors did not give her medication.

She alleges that the doctor on duty, whose name is known to The New Age, “did not even look at me, he became angry and only checked my file”. Provincial health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the CEO of the hospital was investigating the matter.

Elephantiasis is a disease that is characterised by the thickening of the skin and underlying tissues, especially in the legs and male genitals. There is no cure.

zodidim@thenewage.co.za