KZN's RK Khan Hospital gets a new CEO after maggot-in-mouth scandal

The KZN department of health has set in motion the redeployment of CEO at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth, south of Durban.

This follows public outcry after a video went viral on social media showing a patient at the hospital with maggots in his mouth.

Sadek Ebrahim, 52, was admitted to the hospital on June 19 after he developed gangrene in his leg. 

Four days later, his son, Azaad, found maggots squirming under his father's upper lip. 

The hospital has since been slammed for negligence by civil groups, concerned residents and government officials. 

In a media statement on Wednesday, the department said it had decided to redeploy hospital CEO Dr Prakash Subban to another facility. 

"Ms Nqobile Mkhwanazi, CEO of Queen Nandi Memorial Hospital at Empangeni, will move to RK Khan Hospital temporarily on Monday [July 15 2019]. She will lead a multi-disciplinary team that will conduct an investigative diagnosis and develop a turnaround plan for the hospital within six months."

Subban would be deployed to assist with the management of St Aidan's Hospital, which provides specialised urology and renal services, among others.

The department said its decision followed a protracted investigation which found that directives given to hospital management in the past to remedy the hospital's challenges were not implemented.

It said the new team at RK Khan Hospital, with expertise in health services management, had been organised into five work streams:

• General hospital administration
• Clinical services
• Supply chain management
• Patient flows and work process in outpatient departments
• Infrastructure maintenance
• Quality assurance, infection prevention and control

"Despite financial constraints, the department remains committed to improving the quality of care at RK Khan Hospital, as well as all other health facilities across the province," the statement read.