Family claim Indian medical manager was racist

AN INDIAN medical manager at the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital, in Durban, is under investigation by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of health following the death of an intern doctor who was allegedly forced to report for duty while being “quite sick”.

She has been placed on precautionary suspension.

Dr Alulutho Mazwi, 25, was doing his in-service training at the hospital’s paediatric unit.

The department of health has denied allegations of racism.

However, Alulutho’s uncle, Vumani Mazwi, said he believed that racism was the root cause of his nephew's death. 

He told the POST that his nephew was diabetic but it was “not too serious”.

“He did gain a lot of weight which could have caused related issues for him. Alulutho collapsed while at work. He was not fit to work but he was forced to return to work by his medical manager.

“He told his colleague that he was feeling weak and out of breath. The medical manager called some doctors to check him but he collapsed. He died while they were rushing him to the ward,” said Mazwi. 

“I have a feeling that the issue surrounding his death is racism. Before he went back to work, he complained about feeling sick but his medical manager refused to listen.

Despite having a doctor’s certificate, the medical manager took him to the hospital's clinic to verify if he was really sick. She blatantly undermined his initial doctor's orders.

“When the clinic checked Alulutho, they agreed that he should not work. But the medical manager did not listen. If she only listened to him, he would still be with us,” said Mazwi. 

Alulutho had communicated his ill health on WhatsApp to his medical manager.

It read: “Good morning Doc. I’m not feeling well today. Apologies for the inconvenience caused to the team.”

The medical manager replied: “Good morning, please view the message on the group. I expect you to be on duty.” 

Mazwi said Alulutho’s parents were devastated at losing their only child.

“It was a very painful experience for them to view his body after we were informed about his death. It was traumatising to visit the mortuary,” he said.

Mazwi said they had spoken to several of Alulutho’s colleagues, and also gathered that his  working conditions were bad.

“His colleagues told us of their terrible experiences and working conditions at the hospital. The room he stayed in at the hospital’s residence was flooded. When I visited his room it was flooded. The toilet was not working and there was no water. I was upset at seeing the harsh conditions my nephew was subjected to,” said Mazwi.

He said Alulutho started his in-service training at the hospital in 2024.

“Since then he was never able to attend any family functions because of his workload. He faced an overworked environment every-day. Only now we are seeing that the hospital is understaffed and they are using the interns to do the work.

“Those conditions are unhealthy. So many of the doctors shared their sad experiences with me. The government needs to address the needs of doctors, as their negligence is jeopardising the futures of our children. 

“Alulutho was a kind, caring and brilliant child. He was always respectful and quiet. The fact that he was a child from the township that became a doctor at such a young age tells you how bright his future would have been,” said Mazwi. 

Yesterday, at a memorial service at the hospital for Alulutho, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) denied the allegations of racism as the cause of his death.

Many of the staff who attended the memorial echoed the same sentiment and said the issue at hand was the lack of staff at the hospital which had led to doctor fatigue and in Alulutho’s case, his death. 

Nduduzo Masango, from the KZN EFF Youth Command, said the reason for Alulutho’s death was negligence by the government and not racism. 

“We are against negligence and how the department of health has been governed by the MEC for Health, Nomagugu Simelane, and the director general. This is not only happening in  this hospital, but at most hospitals in KZN. Many facing collapse. The negligence on top of the lack of capacity leads to the doctors being overworked which was the case with Dr Mazwi,” said Masango.

“If we reduce this matter to racism it would be an incorrect focus. It is really about the system which is in place that is not functioning. This incident exposes the realities within the health care department in KZN. This hospital has had many issues including one where an ambulance entered the hospital, left the patient unattended and the person died. This hospital is famous - people say when you enter, you won’t leave alive. 

“Our people have lost confidence in public facilities. This hospital is for the people. It is meant to service the people of Umlazi. But it has been failing to deliver adequate services. The shortage of doctors is the real issue which needs to be addressed,” said Masango. 

Andile Mbeje, the provincial secretary of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, said they are upset about the conditions which Dr Mazwi had been forced to work under.

“We don't know if the issue was race. But we are upset about the manner in which he was treated. This colleague passed away in the line of duty and it doesn't sit well with all the other employees. According to our sources, he collapsed while on duty. The staff tried to resuscitate one of their own. But he passed away.

“This matter needs to be investigated and if that manager is found guilty, she needs to face the consequences,” said Mbeje.  

THE POST