The Ministry of Health and Social Services is investigating another alleged assault involving a nurse at Outjo over the weekend, following a similar incident at Okahandja last month.
In the latest incident, a video circulating on social media shows a nurse at Outjo State Hospital in a heated argument with a patient’s father.
The patient’s father, Dankeni Tjilongo, says the altercation started when he allegedly questioned why the queue was moving slowly while he was at the hospital with his son on Saturday.
Tjilongo claims he had been waiting for more than six hours in the queue with no assistance while three nurses were seated.
“It was not even full. I stood up and went to ask whether they had a shortage of staff or whether there was a problem because the service was slow,” he told The Namibian yesterday.
One of the nurses, identified as Molelie Geiseb, allegedly responded in what Tjilongo described as an “unprofessional and unethical” manner.
Geiseb allegedly responded by saying: “If you are in a hurry, bring your own nurses to treat you.”
“I told him it is wrong to respond to me in that way,” Tjilongo said.
He then allegedly told Geiseb that he is a taxpayer and contributes to his employment and that if he did not have a better answer, he should have kept quiet.
Tjilongo allegedly asked Geiseb if there was a patient dying, would he still have responded the same way.
Tjilongo alleged that a female nurse later joined the argument, who said if someone was dying, patients would still wait as nurses are not there to jump around.
In the video, the nurse can be heard accusing Tjilongo of being under the influence of alcohol.
Tjilongo said another male nurse stood up and instructed him to leave, saying he was delaying service and wasting time.
That nurse allegedly pushed him against a patient’s bed.
“That was the time I thought I should defend myself. I took out my phone and recorded a video because he was touching me. He pushed me around, took my phone and stopped the video. Luckily the phone was locked, he could not erase the video,” Tjilongo said.
The female nurse then started recording a video, accusing me of being drunk, he said.
“I was not under the influence. I just took my son to the hospital,” he said.
The nurses allegedly then called the security guards, while Tjilongo called his girlfriend to come stay with the child after he left.
Ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya says the ministry is aware of both the Okahandja and Outjo incidents and that internal investigations are underway.
Nurses Union of Namibia secretary general Junias Shilunga yesterday said he could not comment on the matter as investigations are underway.
When reached for comment, Geiseb refused to comment, referring The Namibian to the hospital’s director.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the hospital on the incident that happened,” he said.
