Netcare Medicross Pinetown Day Theatre. | Khaya Ngwenya/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — Two young children, ages 4 and 6, died after undergoing routine dental procedures at a private healthcare facility in Durban last month.
It is believed that one of the children died on the induction of anaesthesia and the other passed away while on a treatment apparatus, with the same medical practitioner in attendance, on separate days.
The Netcare Medicross Pinetown Day Theatre’s management told the Sunday Tribune this week that all medical procedures at their theatre facility have been temporarily suspended.
As part of their investigation, police investigators were at their Forensics Science Laboratory in Pretoria on Friday.
Colonel Nqobile Gwala, the SAPS KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, confirmed that inquest dockets into both deaths have been opened.
Priscilla Sekhonyana, the acting head of the Health Professions Council of South Africa said: “The HPCSA is aware of the incidents and is currently engaging with the parents to establish the facts and will investigate the allegations.”
The child who turned 4 in January died on February 14.
Her mother told police that the child lost consciousness and her body became limp after receiving dental treatment from a doctor at the facility.
“The child lost power and the doctor realised the child was dead,” said the mother.
The parent of the 6-year-old reported to police that when she arrived at the healthcare facility, she was received by the doctor who performed the dental procedure on her son.
“My son was there to remove his tooth and had no other health issues.”
The mother said, after the procedure, the child failed to gain consciousness, in spite of the medics efforts to revive him.
“The doctor requested the child be placed in an ICU facility but died on his way there,” she said.
Jacques du Plessis, managing director of Netcare’s hospital division, said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that two young patients passed away at the Netcare Medicross Pinetown Day Theatre in recent weeks.
“Given these highly unusual tragedies, medical procedures in theatre have been temporarily suspended until the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate and untimely deaths of the young patients have been established.
“We are profoundly shocked at these tragic events and are doing everything within our power to establish how this occurred. We continually assess our internal processes to pinpoint potential areas for enhancement, consistently striving to maximise patient safety. We wish to again express our heartfelt condolences to the families, knowing that the loss of a child’s life leaves a void that can never be filled.”
He assured that Netcare was committed to transparency and cooperation with all authorities in their investigations while adhering to all protocols with the utmost care. He said they were aware that investigations by both the SAPS and the HPCSA had begun.
Sunday Tribune