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In 2021, Stellenbosch Hospital neglected to notify parents or police of an alleged rape of a 15-year-old mental patient by a fellow patient.
The nurse noticed that a 15-year-old female patient and a 19-year-old male patient were not in their respective rooms and were engaging in coitus in the ward's patients lavatory. The nurse documented the event in the victim's file but did not report it to the nursing manager on duty, instead informing the staff manager about it at the handover.
The assessment discovered that there was an initial delay of around 24 hours in attempting to contact the parents and reporting the occurrence to the institution's head, owing to a failure to recognize the significance of the situation. At the time of the affair, the nurse who observed it was inexperienced and preoccupied with another disturbing event on the ward.
The Western Cape Department of Health has taken steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again, such as providing in-service training to staff on reporting patient safety incidents, stationing a security guard on the ward, and implementing a Quality Improvement Programme for Mental Health Care. According to the report, disciplinary action was taken against the nurse for failing to report the occurrence to her management and the doctor on duty for not contacting the patient's parents immediately.
It was suggested that, within 60 days of receiving the advisory report, the department head establish and execute a directive outlining the timelines for reporting an emergency or any other occurrence that may occur to patients. Patient files should also include enough contact information and addresses to guarantee that patients' immediate family members may be reached and receive correct information on time.
SOURCE: Sowetan Live
