News24.com | Public Protector finds staff failed to report rape of minor at Stellenbosh Hospital to cops

The Office of the Public Protector has found Stellenbosch Hospital staff failed to inform the police about an alleged rape.

• The Office of the Public Protector released its investigation reports on Friday. 
• One of the probes investigated a rape incident at a Western Cape hospital. 
• The Public Protector found hospital staff failed to report the incident to the police.

The Office of the Public Protector has found that staff failed to report the rape of a minor at Stellenbosch Hospital to police.

A nurse at the Adolescent Psychiatric Unit reportedly witnessed the incident, which took place in September 2021.

News24 previously reported that the child's mother said she was initially informed it had happened on 16 September 2021, but was later told the assault had taken place on 23 September 2021.

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The 15-year-old girl, who was receiving psychiatric treatment at the time, was allegedly raped by another patient at the hospital.  

Instead of informing the police, the hospital advised the patient's mother to report it herself.

Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka released the office's investigation reports on Friday.

Gcaleka said: 

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness has since taken steps to prevent such incidents.

These include the provision of in-service training to staff on reporting patient safety incidents and posting a security guard at the ward.

A quality improvement programme for mental healthcare has been developed and implemented and has shown an immediate improvement in care and compliance with the Mental Health Care Act.

All hospital staff who were found to have acted improperly were disciplined internally, Gcaleka said.

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In a separate matter, the office also investigated allegations of maladministration and improper conduct by the Department of Correctional Services. This was in relation to the payment of death grant benefits to the mother of the late Rankitsi William Moleki by the department, to the exclusion of his minor children.

The investigation found the department paid Moleki's grant directly into his mother's private banking account, rather than to the estate account as directed by the Death Grant Committee, and approved by the deputy chief commissioner.

The consequence of the error was to exclude Moleki's minor children from benefitting from the grant.

The Public Protector has directed the department's national commissioner to inform it of the steps it is taking to rectify and effect payment of portions of the grant due to the minor children within 60 days.