Radio presenter Tom London is asking with the Gauteng Department of Health not to return him to Helen Joseph Hospital after his video showing cruelty, carelessness, and bad infrastructure went viral. He is unable to finance an R600,000 procedure at a private hospital.
London, actual name Thomas Holmes, gained headlines after exposing the hospital’s non-functional medical equipment, bad infrastructure, and carelessness on social media via a viral video.
In the video, while in the medical ward, he complains about the doctors’ treatment of patients, claiming that they treat them like cockroaches.
In an interview with IOL News, London said he got a chest infection around five weeks ago and was using over-the-counter medicine.
His condition deteriorated, and he was transferred to the Helen Joseph Hospital, only to receive the worst treatment possible from the doctors.
“I was admitted on August 25 because I was having problems breathing. I had to come to this hospital because I didn’t have any medical insurance, but when I arrived, the doctors provided the worst care I’d ever received.”
London stated that when he was brought to the hospital, he expected to heal well from his infection, but instead received poor treatment from the professionals.
He stated that upon arriving, he was diagnosed with empyema, which is caused by a bacterial infection of the lungs.
“The physicians then drained a lot of fluid from my lungs and administered medications to treat the illness. However, the treatment of patients by doctors at this hospital is appalling,” London stated.
“While I was in the wards, doctors would come to perform rounds and fill out patients’ papers without questioning if they were doing better or not. They simply come here and treat you as if you are not a human being; patients are treated like insects there.”
He stated that a patient in the same ward died in his bed as a result of liver failure after being left unattended for more than four hours.
“There were flies coming from the outside and entering the ward’s window as a dead man’s body lay on the bed unattended. The individual died on September 7 at 6 a.m., and his body was left unattended for over four hours.”
London stated that after 13 days in the hospital, he opted to leave because, within hours of the post going viral, hundreds of his followers donated to a fund for his treatment at the Mediclinic Hospital in Morningside, a private facility.
He claimed to have received better treatment there than at the state hospital.
“When I arrived there, I was treated well compared to that circus hospital, where patients are treated badly by doctors who are supposed to show kindness and compassion to patients.”
However, London stated that the physicians informed him that there are three different treatment options for his ailment, one of which is to take antibiotics and recover at home.
“The second option was to drain the fluid from my lungs, while the third option required an operation. Which is something I cannot afford because I do not have medical insurance.”
He claims that he was told that the operation would cost more than R600,000, and that he is unable to pay, forcing him to return to a public hospital.
“I have no choice but to return to the public hospital for the operation because I do not have enough money to cover the cost. The physicians stated they’d let me know whether or not I’d be discharged tomorrow.”
According to London, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC of Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko paid him a visit yesterday after seeing the video.
“They came to see me, and we agreed that I would return to a public hospital for medical treatment. However, I am hoping not to be transferred back to Helen Joseph Hospital due to the poor treatment I received there,” London told IOL News.
He remarked that receiving treatment at public hospitals takes a long time because there are so many other patients waiting to be operated on.
“I told them that I would prefer being admitted at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital and now that MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has vowed to fast track the process, I don’t want to go back to that circus hospital,” according to him.
