Formalin trial: anaesthetist admits fault
The anaesthetist who gave a Pietermaritzburg pensioner Formalin to drink instead of water has conceded it was negligent.
|||Durban - The anaesthetist who gave a Pietermaritzburg pensioner Formalin to drink instead of water after a knee replacement operation at a state hospital, has conceded it was negligent.
Dr C Alphonsus was testifying on Monday for the Department of Health, which is being sued for R1 million by Isabella Smith, 84. The civil trial is running into its second week at the Durban High Court before Judge Graham Lopes.
Smith on Monday said she had a bit of a cold, but that, “I’ll be here everyday until the end”.
She had testified at the start of the trial saying she was once a help to her six children, all of whom live overseas, by assisting in the home and with childcare, but since her operation, she was forced to live at a retirement home and was too afraid to travel.
A clinical psychologist testified that Smith constantly suffers hunger pangs, dizziness, anxiety, an upset stomach and feelings of hopelessness. She also said Smith carries a constant memory of terrible burning pain.
Smith was admitted to Grey’s Hospital in May 2010 for knee replacement surgery. In the recovery ward afterwards, she had asked for water and said the anaesthetist had instead brought her a cup with Formalin. She took a gulp, then screamed she was being burned.
As a result of drinking the Formalin, Smith said she had to endure excruciating pain and suffering, had to remain in hospital for six weeks longer, and suffered symptoms including severe vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. She said she still cannot enjoy a normal diet and has suffered “significant weight loss”.
On Monday, Alphonsus confirmed she had fetched water for Smith as the nurses were busy. “After drinking it, she (Smith) did say it tasted funny. I took it away and examined the container I got it from. I don’t remember if I smelt it,” the anaesthetist testified. She said she was concerned because formalin is not something to be taken orally. “I had to take steps to treat it as a toxin and manage it as such,” she said.
Advocate Mergen Chetty, acting on behalf of the department, then called specialist anaesthetist, Dr David Bishop, who was stationed at Grey’s Hospital in 2010 and had been called to the recovery room soon after the incident, to the stand.
He testified to being told Smith had taken a sip of Formalin and was subsequently given milk to drink and had vomited. Smith had disputed this in her testimony, saying she had taken a large gulp of it, thinking it was water.
Bishop said he discussed a management plan with the chief specialist and, given Smith’s health history, agreed she be given activated charcoal to absorb the poison.
noelene.barbeau@inl.co.za
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