A stock photo of empty hospital beds – Image source: Flickr
Bloemfontein: Hospital patient dies after bed catches fire
According to the Free State Department of Health, the patient was isolating in a cubicle and used matches were found next to her bed
A stock photo of empty hospital beds – Image source: Flickr
The Free State Department of Health has confirmed that a 47-year-old female patient at Pelonomi Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein has died after bed caught fire. The incident occurred on Thursday, 11 August 2022.
The patient had undergone a hernia repair and loop ileostomy and was on oxygen prongs. She had been isolating in a cubicle after abdominal TB was discovered intraoperatively, News24 reports.
FREE STATE HEALTH DEPT: CAUSE OF FIRE TO BE PROBED
According to the Free State Department of Health, a nurse who was on duty at the hospital had heard loud screams and upon investigating, realised that the patient’s bed was on fire.
“The professional nurse summoned help, and the patient was removed from the cubicle, and the fire was put out. Used matches were found in the cubicle next to the burnt bed,” said department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi.
The ward was then evacuated and the affected patient was then taken to a different ward where she was as assessed by both the surgical and ICU doctors. She was diagnosed with 10% burns on her waist and back.
Mvambi added that the patient’s condition had then deteriorated and that she had died. For now, the circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated and a final report will be completed once that matter has been concluded.
ALSO READ
