North West Insider editorial | Klerksdorp
A family says it asked twice for a wound to be cleaned at Tshepong Hospital. It says it had to bring sheets from home because the patient had no bed linen. North West Insider asked the North West Department of Health what it would do about the conditions the family described. The department did not answer our questions.
On the surface of a heavily blood-stained dressing is a cluster of small, pale objects. The family says they were maggots.
Look at the photograph. On the surface of a heavily blood-stained dressing is a cluster of small, pale objects. The family says they were maggots. That is what they say they saw. What we want to know is why, according to the family, they had to ask twice before the wound was cleaned.
The patient has since been discharged. Other patients are still in those wards. That is why we asked what the hospital would do immediately.
Management has answered ward complaints before
In April 2026, OFM reported on a separate set of complaints about hygiene and infrastructure in Ward 4 at the Klerksdorp-Tshepong Hospital Complex. Management said photographs circulating at the time showed an area that had been closed for planned maintenance and that barricades had been removed without authorisation. It disputed reports of patients sleeping on the floor, acknowledged intermittent hot water and said additional cleaning staff had been deployed. Read OFM’s original report.
That was a separate case concerning Ward 4. It does show the level of detail management can provide when concerns are raised. In April, it explained what it disputed, what it acknowledged and what it said it had done. We asked for that same level of detail on wound care, linen and patient safety. We are still waiting.
Who is checking what happens in the wards?
If a relative points out a dressing that needs urgent attention, who takes responsibility for checking it? If the first request goes unanswered, who is in charge on that shift? And what happens to a patient who has nobody at the bedside to ask a second time?
Those are questions for hospital management. A wound care procedure should translate into someone checking the dressing, recording what they find and acting when something is wrong. Management should be able to show how it checks that this happens, how it picks up missed care and what it does when a ward is short of staff or supplies.
The family also says the ward doors remained open while the air conditioner was running in intense heat. We asked what safeguards were in place to keep flies away from patients and their dressings, and how the hospital maintains appropriate ward temperatures. The department can answer both questions. It can also tell us when those safeguards were last checked and what it has done since receiving our enquiry.
Why was a family bringing sheets from home?
A hospital bed should come with clean linen. A patient who arrives alone should have the same assurance as someone whose relatives can fetch sheets from home.
If linen stocks ran low, say so. If the laundry could not keep up, tell us what broke down. If clean sheets were available elsewhere in the hospital, explain why the family says it had to supply its own. Tell patients what happens the next time a ward runs out, and name the person responsible for making sure it is restocked.
This is where public spending becomes visible. People experience it in the sheets on a hospital bed, the dressings available on a shift and the time a nurse has to check a wound. When those basics are reportedly missing, the public is entitled to ask where the system failed and what management is doing to fix it.
The deadline passed. The questions stand.
North West Insider sent the photograph and written questions to the department’s media representatives. We asked for a response by noon on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The deadline passed without a reply. At publication, we had received no response.
Here is what the North West Department of Health and Tshepong Hospital management still need to answer:
- What has been checked since the enquiry arrived? Tell us whether wound care, linen stocks, ward hygiene and fly control have been inspected, and what those checks found.
- What will change on the wards? Explain how staff will identify wounds that need attention, how families can escalate concerns and how management will make sure every patient has clean linen.
- Who is accountable? Name the officials responsible for each corrective measure, give completion dates and explain what action will follow if failures in care or supervision are established.
The department can start with three answers today. Which wards have been checked? What has already been fixed? Who will verify that patients are receiving the care they should?
North West Insider will update this article if the department or hospital management responds.
