A Mpumalanga family has accused Witbank Hospital in Nkangala of negligence after their daughter, a brain surgery patient, was discharged while still critically ill.
Left in the care of medically untrained relatives, her condition deteriorated so severely that community members intervened to force the hospital to re‑admit her.
Ayanda Mnisi, 35, was admitted to the hospital in October for brain surgery.
Witbank Hospital accused of negligence
Weeks later, she was discharged, despite suffering partial paralysis, being confined to a wheelchair and still carrying an open wound on her head.
Doctors instructed her to return once a week for check‑ups, leaving her family to manage the remaining six days without medical training or resources.
Her mother, Sonto Mnisi, said the family struggled to care for Ayanda, whose wound worsened rapidly.
“She was critically ill and the infection was spreading all over her head,” she recalled.
“Some parts of her skull had been removed and you could see something that looked like brains. When I cleaned the wound, she cried uncontrollably.”
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Unable to cope, the family turned to community leaders, who accompanied them back to the hospital and demanded Ayanda be re‑admitted.
Once back under medical supervision, her condition improved markedly.
“She looks much better than when we were taking care of her at home,” Sonto said, though she added the hospital had not explained how long Ayanda would remain in hospital.
But health authorities disputed the family’s account.
Mpumalanga health department responds
Mpumalanga Department of Health spokesperson Dumisani Malamule insisted Ayanda had requested discharge herself to spend the festive season at home.
“It is within her rights to do so,” he said, adding that she continued to attend weekly neurosurgeon appointments for dressing changes.
The family rejects this explanation.
“If she had asked to be discharged, we would have simply taken her back to the hospital without involving community leaders,” said Sonto.
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She accused the department of lying and abandoning her daughter while she was still critically ill.
Ayanda also confirmed that her condition worsened after surgery.
“A few hours after the operation, I realised my leg and handwere not functioning,” she said softly from her hospital bed.
“When I told the nurses I wanted to go to the bathroom, they gave me a walking stick and a wheelchair. They seemed not surprised.
“When I came here for the surgery, I was fine, but things got bad after that. I was not even aware there was an opening in my head when they said I should go home.”
The family also claims Ayanda was repeatedly denied transfer to Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria for plastic surgery.
Doctors allegedly told them the initial operation had not been conducted properly, preventing further procedures.
Financial strain has compounded the ordeal.
Sonto, a pensioner caring for four grandchildren, said the hospital refused to issue a letter recommending Ayanda for a disability grant, citing unpaid administration fees of more than R1 000.
‘Horror movie’
Community leader Bheki Nyawo, a member of the non‑profit Enough is Enough, described his shock at Ayanda’s condition.
“It was like watching a horror movie,” he said.
“If men like us get terrified, I can imagine the trauma her family and the children in the house have been going through.”
Nyawo said he struggled to sleep after seeing her wound and only after persistent pleading did the hospital agree to re‑admit her.
Despite official denials, the family insists Ayanda’s discharge was premature and dangerous.
“She was not even aware of the opening in her head,” Sonto said.
“We were forced to hand her back to the hospital because she was critically ill.
“Since then, she has improved, which shows she should never have been sent home in the first place.”
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