Khorixas resident and TB patient Johan van Ster (63), who suffers from dementia, went missing last Tuesday during his transfer from the Windhoek Central Hospital to Katutura Intermediate Hospital.
Van Ster's niece Genade /Uises told The Namibian that he was found by a family friend begging for food and water at the hospital's casualty department.
“He then made a phone call to my aunt to inform her that he had found him and we rushed to meet him,” said /Uises, adding the family does not believe he was under hospital care because he appeared frail and weak and had not eaten for days.
“He could neither stand up nor speak to tell us what had happenned to him and had a visible bruise on his neck,” she says.
/Uises also says on enquiry, the hospital staff claimed that they had him under their care but that he had already been discharged and they could, therefore, not re-admit him.
“When we demanded to see their register if they had admitted and discharged him, they refused. They also refused to provide the full name of the nurse who was supposed to have looked after him from the beginning. We only know the nurse as 'Aser'” /Uises said.
She further explained that her family in Khorixas is making arrangements for Van Ster to return since he is not receiving the treatment he deserves.
“They are hoping he will receive better treatment at the hospital in Khorixas,” says
/Uises. “After being sent back and forth between both hospitals, we are informed that he is currently at Katutura TB ward.”
Contacted for comment, Ministry of Health and Social Services' spokesperson Ester Paulus yesterday said that she could only comment once she checked with both hospitals.