Patient Found Dead in Hospital Swimming Pool


By Thandi    30-Mar-2013 17:03 UTC+02:00

A patient who went missing at St. Mary’s Hospital in Marianhill last Sunday was found dead in the hospital’s swimming pool on Tuesday, Isolezwe reported.

Mr Alfred Mphehleni Ngcobo (60) went to hospital on Friday after suffering from high blood pressure. While still waiting for admission, his wife, Mrs Phakamile Ngcobo (45), stayed with him in hospital until Saturday. On Sunday morning she received a call from the hospital telling her that her husband was missing.

She then went to hospital to look  for him but he was nowhere to be found. On Tuesday the search for Mr Ngcobo continued. His body was later found floating in a swimming pool.

Mrs Ngcobo blames the hospital for her husband’s death. She said she believes that they gave him an injection which caused him to suffer mentally. Those who saw him said he seemed mentally ill. One of the nurses said he was trying to escape. She said it is a person’s responsibility to watch their relative because security guards cannot stop patients from escaping.

Mrs Ngcobo said what confuses her is that the gate to the swimming pool is always locked and the fence is too high for someone to climb. KwaZulu-Natal Police spokesperson Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed this incident and said the police will investigate how Mr Ngcobo  died.


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