Doreen Mokgolo
The Shai family is blaming their local clinic for the death of their four-month-old son Tshegofatso after nurses could not resuscitate him because of load shedding.
Tshegofatso had fallen ill at daycare on Thursday afternoon and was rushed to the Tokoza-Dresser Municipal Clinic in Gauteng for treatment.
At the time of arrival at the clinic, the area was under load shedding and was operating without any form of power supply as the clinic’s backup generator was not working.
The nurses were unable to resuscitate the baby and an hour after admission, Tshegofatso was certified dead by paramedics.
His distraught father, Abel Shai, said the nurse who was assisting his son told him that they couldn’t resuscitate Tshegofatso because there was no power supply due to loadshedding.
“When I inquired about their generator because I know they have one, the nurse told me that it had not been working since that morning.
“I was heartbroken and felt defeated,” he said.
The father said that he wants answers from the clinic and for management to be held liable.
“My son was not given a fair opportunity to fight for his life. Had the generator been working or fixed that morning, my son’s life might have been spared.
“I will be instituting legal proceedings against the clinic,” he added.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said their preliminary investigations show that the child died before he arrived at the clinic.
He further confirmed that the generator was not working on the day but they cannot blame the child’s death on this.
“All the machines that could have been used to resuscitate the child are battery operated and didn’t need the generator to operate,” he said.
