This is true
life experience for a Bulawayo family whose story is as shocking as it is
disturbing.
The family told
B-Metro they suffered a double tragedy as their relative eventually died on the
same day, under unpalatable circumstances, as they struggled to process the
mind-boggling issue.
Family members
have told authorities at Mpilo Central Hospital they want to sue individual
nurses who were on duty on the day for the “unprofessional way” they handled
the issue.
Chantel Dube
Narrating the
chain of events, Chantel Dube said her grandmother, Idah Mushongahande (79) was
admitted to the hospital on 1 December 2025.
“She was being
treated for arthritis and Parkinson’s. Doctors held out little hope,” she said.
“On 2 December
at 10:08 PM, we were jolted awake by a call from the hospital informing us our
beloved granny was no more.”
Dube said the
family was devastated.
“We informed
relatives and they started travelling for the funeral. We called Nyaradzo
Funeral Services and made a claim, which they promptly processed. Dazed, we
made our way to the hospital to collect granny’s body.
“Imagine how we
felt when we got to the ward and saw Granny alive and well! Her pulse was
strong and she did no look like she was in immediate danger of dying,” said a
crestfallen Dube.
She said what
made the trauma worse was that the nurses on duty were nonchalant about the
issue.
“They simply
told us a mistake had been made but they would not tell us who had made the
mistake or explain further,” said Dube.
She said the
family explained to the hospital that they had already made a claim at Nyaradzo
and they needed the institution to explain the mistake so they would not get in
trouble for making a false claim.
“A nurse (name
withheld) said libe liyenzeleni amawala lisiya e Nyaradzo, Imagine shuwa,” she
said.
Dube said
tempers flared and the family told the nurses they would sue the hospital. The
same nurse made a veiled threat.
“‘Manje nxa
selisenzanjalo sizacina sesi…’ she did not finish her sentence as she was
interrupted by someone else,” said Dube.
The family took
it to be a threat and approached some senior matrons for assistance.
“The matrons
were professional and helpful. We went back to the ward where we were told we
were supposed to pay for an INR (International Normalised Ratio) scan at Lancet
House. The nurses seemed to be giving us attitude. They started demanding
things one by one to apparently send us out of the ward. We were about to go to
lancet house and we passed through the matron’s office,” she said.
“We passed by
the ward and we were suddenly told granny had died again. We had already told
travelling family members that she was not dead after all. The nurses were
going to let us pay for a scan instead of informing us. They simply said they
were about to call us, when they saw us. The circumstances do not make sense to
us at all,” Dube said.
She said the
family wanted to sue individual nurses for the trauma and lack of
professionalism.
“The nurses
were protecting each other. They did not want to tell us anything. The senior
matron was the only helpful one. She even used her own car to assist us in
making arrangements for removal of the body.”
Mpilo Central
Hospital spokesperson Matron Norma Dube was not reachable for comment. Hospital
CEO Dr Narcissus Dzvanga said he was travelling to Harare and could not comment
as he was yet to be briefed on the issue.
He referred
questions to Clinical director, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya.
“We offer
profound condolences to the family. Internal procedures have been instituted. I
cannot comment fully before we get the full report. We grieve with the family
and we are sorry for the trauma they went through. They must feel free to
approach the hospital for any assistance,” said Prof Ngwenya. B Metro
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