It is 5.41pm on Saturday, December 14 2024, and I’ve just returned home from the final day of the four-day SACP special national congress in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, when my phone rings. It is my sister, Loyiso, screaming: “Luyolo, ndiyafa! [I am dying!]”
My wife is about to serve supper, and I am recounting my day with the communists. Loyiso’s words jolt me, and soon we were on loudspeaker, trying to locate her. She mentions she is near Halfway House Primary in Midrand, on her way to Mall of Africa. We deduce she is on the N1S, and rush out.
Traffic congests near the Big Bird Engen garage, confirming our worst fears. I drive like a madman to the accident scene between New Road and Allandale Road. There we find Loyiso in deep agony, her right hand held by good Samaritans to keep her conscious. She has broken her left arm, three ribs, each in two places, and is struggling to breathe.
A tyre from a truck on the opposite side of the highway had come loose, flying over the barrier and smashing into her VW Jetta’s bonnet, obliterating the windscreen and ripping off a big part of the roof. It could have been deadly had she had a passenger with her, or if the tyre had hit the driver’s side.
The scene is chaotic, with tow trucks and a Johannesburg municipal police freeway patrol car. An off-duty Netcare employee who pulled over claiming he could help, complicates matters by trying to deter the Gauteng EMS personnel who had arrived first on the scene, insisting Loyiso would get “the best medical care” at a Netcare facility.
As we wait I manage Loyiso’s personal items, answer calls from her friends and deal with her car insurance, tow truck guys and police. I have with me some of her personal belongings: a purse containing her ID, driving licence, medical aid, bank and retail store cards, and two cellphones, among other things.
The Netcare employee’s interference causes delays and friction, with the police officer eventually clashing with him over his actions. His Netcare colleague arrives in a Toyota Fortuner, administers a drip and checks her vitals — but only after confirming she has medical aid and the plan details.
I relay these questions to Loyiso, who is barely coherent. I plead with Gauteng EMS to take her to Life Carstenhof Hospital, but their ambulance is full and they complain that the Netcare employee is interfering.
More than an hour passes, and the Netcare ambulance still hasn’t arrived. When I relay my displeasure to the Netcare employee he says there had been a number of accidents due to inclement weather. Frustrated, I call Carewell Ambulances, based in Midrand, and another company as backup.
Amid this chaos, opportunists on the scene start suggesting law firms for Road Accident Fund claims. Meanwhile, tension rises between an official from the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) and the Netcare employee.
The Sanral employee fears another accident could happen due to cars speeding on the dimly lit freeway. But the Netcare employee insists it is “his” accident scene, dismissing the Sanral employee trying to manage traffic safety, mockingly telling him to go “man his cones”.
Finally, after nearly two hours the Netcare ambulance arrives, during which time another accident occurs at the scene due to the poor visibility. On arrival the Netcare ambulance staff insist on taking Loyiso to the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital, claiming no beds are available at Life Carstenhof. We protest, insisting on Life Carstenhof, our trusted hospital: one of my children was born there, and my wife underwent a successful procedure there after a life-threatening ailment.
My cousin arrives at the scene. Together we decide that Loyiso be taken to Life Carstenhof. But the Netcare ambulance personnel, including their driver, froth at the mouth, insisting that Loyiso be taken to one of their facilities. They even go to the extent of wanting to make us to “listen on the radio” to one of their colleagues who is standing at the ready to confirm the nonavailability of beds at Life Carstenhof.
We are at our wits’ end but stand firm, threatening to record the conversation and expose them on social media. Reluctantly, they agree. After following the ambulance to Life Carstenhof we discover there is no shortage of beds. Loyiso is admitted to the ICU and undergoes a successful operation at daybreak.
This harrowing incident highlights the deadly competition between private healthcare providers who elect to prioritise profits and meeting targets over lives. This is why I urgently call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fully implement National Health Insurance to end this nonsense.
• Mkentane is political correspondent.
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