make a donation

News

South Africa investigates girl's leg amputation mix-up

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

South African health authorities are investigating how a two-year-old girl who burnt her arms instead had her legs amputated in hospital. Gauteng provincial minister Gedani Mahlangu set up a task-team on Monday.

Thembisa Kometsi was admitted into a Johannesburg hospital, where officials say her legs were amputated because they had gangrene.

An opposition party has described the incident as a “maiming” and is calling for an independent investigation.

Ms Mahlangu’s spokesperson Mandla Sidu said that his department held a meeting on Monday with officials from both the Far East Rand Hospital where Thembisa was first admitted with burn wounds and from Charlotte Maxeke hospital, where she was transferred.

Mr Sidu says the provincial minister learnt of the incident from media reports and subsequently received a letter from the Kometsi family, demanding action from the Gauteng authorities.

“Ms Mahlangu visited the family on Friday where they voiced their concerns,” said Mr Sidu. “A task-team been has now been set up to get to the bottom of the matter. We are expecting a report in seven days.”

posted by arbroath at 9:11 AM

Tags

, , , ,

Comments

There are no comments for this article just yet

Add your comments

Your details

Please enter your details

Name
Mail(will not be published)
Website

Your comments

« || »

Introduction

The Douglas Bader Foundation is a charity organisation, formed in honour of Sir Douglas Bader in 1982 by family and friends, many of whom had flown side by side with Douglas during World War 2. Douglas was honoured in 1976 with a Knighthood for his contribution and work on behalf of the disabled. The mission of the foundation is to continue Douglas' work in conjunction with and on behalf of individuals with a disability. read more >
 
FOLLOW THE DOUGLAS BADER FOUNDATION ON FACEBOOK
Bader Braves
LLIC Limb Line

There’s already our popular Forum for information, support & chat. But sometimes you may feel in need of something extra.

You’re special to us you know! So we thought you’d like a more personal service for more specific advice or maybe to make a 1-2-1 contact with another amputee.

Just email Leggz at leggzhelpline@hotmail.co.uk

Bader Golf
The Bader Cup Golf Tournament

THE BADER CUP was started in 1987, and is now widely recognised as the largest National Mixed Greensome Stableford Golf Tournament in Europe.

John Southwick founded the Tournament to raise funds for The Douglas Bader Foundation. He still organises the competition.

Please see the Bader Golf Page and the nested Bader Cup pages on the left hand menu bar.

For more information, a brochure or to enter and help to raise money for a good cause, please visit John Southwick's dedicated Website:

www.thebadercup.co.uk
Bader Golf Sponsors
Associated Companies
ART to FLY
Art to fly

Art to Fly, a specialist aviation artwork Website, was created by Pat Barnard, long-time friend of Sir Douglas, as a way of supporting the Douglas Bader Foundation disabled children’s Flying Days.

You can find out more about Art to Fly and the aviation paintings and drawings, aircraft prints and books – all signed by famous WW11 pilots and carefully selected and attractively priced for aviation art collectors - by visiting the Website:

www.arttofly.org

As Art To Fly is a non-profit organization, 100% of the profits of any sales go to help disabled children experience the joy of flight through the Douglas Bader Foundation’s “Bader Braves” Flying Days programme, details of which can be found on this Website.

Upcoming Events