The irate family of Rani Nadesan, 55, who came home with a leg wound crawling with maggots is suing the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health after her current doctors confirmed that she will be losing her leg.
Nadesan, went into Osindisweni Hospital at the end of March, looking for treatment for a sore on her leg. Her sister, Mary Naidoo, said due to Covid restrictions they were not allowed to visit Nadesan and that the taxi fare to the hospital was too expensive to allow frequent visits. “When they did allow, it was for only one person. One day her daughter went in, she said she could see her mother was in a bad condition. Her mouth was dry and there were flies everywhere. She was screaming in pain and was begging to be discharged.” Naidoo said Nadesan was diagnosed with osteoarthritis about five years ago. Nadesan also has cellulitis and is on chronic treatment for her condition. On 27 March Nadesan was admitted, once again, for treatment at Osindisweni which left her with maggots coming out of her body. It is alleged that the mother-of-one also suffered physical abuse from two male nurses while she was admitted at the hospital.
“My sister was screaming in pain and the nurses slapped and pinched her to make her stop. When she came home she told us they also strapped her to her bed to restrict her movement. When she called out for them to give her water nobody helped.” After Nadesan’s discharge she was cared for by her sister. Naidoo said one day later she made the horrific discovery. “I was going to feed her breakfast and usually she sits up and gets herself ready but this time she didn’t want to move and complained about excruciating pain. Before we actually opened the bandage we saw a maggot on the pillow. At first we thought it was food from last night’s supper but then we saw it move. This was when we feared the most.” Naidoo said the bandage was stuck to Nadesan’s leg, however, they managed to remove it. “The maggots were actually falling from her leg. The smell and that sight was horrific. Her skin was even peeling off.” She said the family had to borrow money to take Nadesan to a private general practitioner and after using a few home remedies the wound got a little better. “However, after a while she began complaining about serious pains again and she had to go back to hospital.” Nadesan was taken to a different government hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment. “The latest news we received from doctors at the hospital is that her leg will have to be amputated. They told us the infection has also affected her kidneys,” said Naidoo. Democratic Alliance spokesperson on health, Rishigen Viranna, said the party has forwarded Nadesan’s case to the province’s Health Ombudsman for a thorough investigation. Viranna said the DA is horrified at the treatment of Nadesan. “Instead of receiving proper treatment at the facility, by the time she was discharged her wound was infested with live maggots. At that stage, there were promises from the MEC and KZN’s Department of Health that patient care would be prioritised. Regrettably, these promises have come to nothing and such incidents continue within our public sector hospitals.” The department had yet to comment at the time of going to print.
