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CHARGED FOR NEGLECT OF SUSPECTED COVID-19 PATIENT

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MANZINI - Two nurses from Mbabane Clinic have been charged for allegedly refusing to attend to a patient who was suspected to have contracted COVID-19.

The two nurses have been charged with misconduct and their disciplinary hearing is scheduled to begin tomorrow. This is contained in the notification of disciplinary hearing letter which The Clinic Group wrote to the nurses last Saturday.


The Clinic Group charged the medical practitioners under Section 5.1 of its disciplinary code. It said that on March 29, 2020, the nurses allegedly refused to care for the patient, who was assigned to them in ward three, without a legitimate reason.


“Under Section 3.5 of The Clinic Group Disciplinary Code, your refusal to look after the patient in ward three on March 29, 2020, led to the publication of a press article by one of the local print media on April 2, 2020, which put The Clinic into disrepute,” reads part of the letter.


Enquiry


On that regard, The Clinic Group advised the medical practitioners that their date of the enquiry would be tomorrow.
In the letter, the nurses were also advised that they had a right to prepare their case and that was the reason why they were given their notice for disciplinary hearing at least 48 hours before the enquiry date.


Furthermore, they were advised that they had a right to be accompanied and represented by a colleague of their choice or by a member of the workers council or staff association who was not on suspension from work for the hearing or any subsequent appeal.


The nurses were also told that they had a right to call a witness to testify on their behalf and have an interpreter. They were also advised that they had a right to appeal against the penalty provided and this could be done within seven working days of the hearing. In the letter, The Clinic Group added that if they did not attend the hearing and could not give a reasonable ground for failing to be present, the disciplinary proceedings would be held in their absence.


Meanwhile, Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) President Bheki Mamba said they were aware of the developments. He said as a union, they viewed the actions of The Clinic Group as offside because the nurses did not have personal protective equipment (PPE). He also claimed that they were not trained about the virus at that time. “That was the main reason why they failed to attend to the patient. Otherwise they were willing to do their job,” the president said.


On that note, he said what The Clinic Group was doing would tarnish its image as people would look at it as an organisation that wants it workers to work even if they were not protected.


On that regard, the president said they were going to write a letter of complaint to the International Council of Nurses in Geneva so that it engages the office of the director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the matter. He said they would take this action because WHO made it clear that health workers, including nurses, should be given PPE to protect themselves from the virus. He added that it was shocking that there were institutions which were charging nurses for demanding PPE.


Verify


Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, said she was still in Cabinet and was unable to call Mbabane Clinic to verify the developments. However, she said the ministry was aware that matters pertaining to members of staff of a non-government institution were employer-employee business. 


In earlier statement, the minister had on clarified that the suspected COVID-19 patient who died last Monday at the Mbabane Clinic had been cleared of possibilities of the virus. Nkosi had said the 33-year old woman had presented with underlying conditions and was very ill before she even arrived at the clinic. Nkosi said the patient, who unfortunately passed away, was tested by the doctors for COVID-19 as her case was critical and the test results came back negative. 


According to Nkosi, doctors had actually attended to the patient and did not dump her, but she was then supposed to be taken care of by a nurse who was responsible to do that but she was afraid and a nursing sister came along and helped take the patient to isolation. “I recognise and acknowledge the fact that some health workers will be afraid and as we work with people and as they get more protected, this will help them to become more confident,” said the minister.

The minister said the patient had been to the hospital before and presented with symptoms that were very similar to those of COVID-19, including chest problems, which were very serious at the time. She said the patient had been undergoing treatment since October last year. Nkosi expressed condolences to the family, particularly because her death came in the middle of the COVID-19 confusion, adding that they could have been worried by the situation but the patient tested negative.


She said the patient did not fit the case definition as she had not been exposed to people who had travelled to high-risk countries and became ill. However, she said her symptoms were very similar to those of COVID-19 and the clinic was right to take precautions. She said the ministry had been working with the clinic since February and nurses there were trained and have isolation spaces.

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