News24 reports that officials at the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal allegedly wanted another medical practitioner’s opinion when Dr Alulutho Mazwi presented them with a sick note.

This was revealed by the deceased’s mother after the funeral service of the student doctor in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, on Thursday. The medical intern died after collapsing at the facility. Allegedly, the 25-year-old student doctor, who died on 12 May, was forced by his supervisor to report for duty even after he explained he was not feeling well. Mazwi worked at the hospital’s paediatric unit since July last year. He studied at Walter Sisulu University. His traumatised mother, Thabisa Maqoqa, said she wanted justice for his son. SA’s Health Ombudsman, Professor Taole Mokoena, last week said circumstances surrounding Mazwi’s death would be investigated. This was after Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi requested Mokoena to look into Mazwi’s death after there was public outrage over working conditions at the facility. Hospital staff attended the funeral service and clinical manager Dr Nokufika Mathabela apologised to Mazwi’s family for the incident. The hospital’s CEO, Gabriel Khawula, said: “After the death of Dr Mazwi, other cases of victimisation of medical interns have come to the fore. As the department, we are going to revise the ways in which medical interns are treated to prevent what happened to Dr Mazwi.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sithandiwe Velaphi at News24

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