A man who came to Cape Town for medical treatment claims student doctors at Tygerberg Hospital robbed him of his sight.
Eric Thembisele Datini, 40, from the Eastern Cape, moved to his sister in Delft last year after he became extremely sick but no one could tell what was wrong with him.
His sister Busiswa Datini, 54, took him to Eerste River Hospital in November.
“He was admitted to Eerste River and he received blood transfusions.
“They then picked up some cancer in his blood and he was transferred to Tygerberg Hospital so they can see where the cancer is coming from,” Busiswa explains.
But she says at Tygerberg, no cancer could be detected.
“He was lying in ward B8 and I spoke to the doctor about why he was not released yet, and the doctor said he was sick,” Busiswa says.
“I visited regularly and saw his eyes were yellow. When I went again it had an even darker yellow colour.
“He told me about the student doctors working on him and said he was not an old car every student must work on.”
Eric says he started having blurred vision, and kept asking to be discharged but the doctors kept him in and eventually he lost his eyesight.
“I don’t even know what medication they were giving me. When I asked, they (students doctors) could not give me a clear answer,” he says.
“When I went to that hospital, my eyesight was perfect. Now I am blind and can’t do anything. I blame those student doctors for this.
“When we asked the doctor what now, I was told there was nothing they could do. The damage was done. They are sorry,” Eric says angrily.
But Western Cape Health Department spokesperson Laticia Pienaar says Eric’s vision was already “compromised” when he was admitted to Tygerberg.
TREATMENT: Tygerberg Hospital. Picture: HENK KRUGER/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY/ANA
“The patient visited Eerste River Hospital and was referred to Tygerberg Hospital where he could receive specialist retinal service,” she says.
“The patient’s vision was already compromised prior to him receiving treatment.
“As a teaching and training institution, Tygerberg Hospital requires undergraduate medical students to present cases (of patients) to senior qualified clinicians, “The students never treat patients or make any decisions regarding patient treatment,” she says, adding that the patient can contact the clinic directly with any queries.
robin.francke@inl.co.za