Imagine taking your child to the hospital only to be told, days later, that they are missing.
This is what happened to Deliwe Mchunu from Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal. In June of 2018, her son, Nthuthuko Mchunu started showing symptoms of “depression and anxiety”. Concerned, she took him to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Durban, where he was admitted.
But days following his admission Deliwe received a call from the hospital: they couldn’t find her son.
“I left my child in the care of the hospital, thinking he was safe, but I have never seen him again,” she tells Health-e News.
Nthuthuko was 22 years old at the time.
Deliwe Mchunu reported the disappearance to the hospital as well as the Phoenix Police Station, but has yet to receive any updates on her son’s whereabouts.
Health department is ‘aware of the matter’
The provincial Department of Health has confirmed details of the case and ongoing challenges in tracing him.
“We are aware of the matter involving a missing patient from the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital. Patient Ntuthuko Mchunu (22) presented at our facility on 23 June 2018. However, due to a bed shortage in Ward 5, he was made to wait at Casualty,” says spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa.
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The written response to Health-e News’ query reads:
- On 29 June 2018 at around 14h00, Mchunu was allowed to take a smoking break but absconded from the hospital and never returned to Casualty. A search involving our security guards and nurses in all areas of the hospital was launched but yielded no results. The patient’s mother and the SAPS were informed.
- We can confirm that the mother came to the hospital on two occasions, on the 4th and 6th of July 2018, to inform the hospital that her son had not returned home. On 6 July 2018, the SAPS opened a missing person case and statements were obtained from staff. The patient had absconded with the file.
- On 31 July 2018, the SAPS dog unit held an update meeting with the hospital, to which Mchunu’s mother had been invited but did not attend. The investigating officer informed the meeting that he had also conducted a home visit to Mchunu’s residence, which the patient had previously attempted to burn down.
- A Patient Safety Indicator file was located and a copy is kept at the CEO’s office. Efforts made to find him have failed over the years, and the hospital has contacted Colonel Mthiyane to look into the matter and provide the hospital with new developments on the case. — Health-e News
