Online Reporter
Latwell Nyangu
A HARARE family is up in arms with a local hospital, Health Point Africa, after the medical institution allegedly placed its relative in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because of the unavailability of general admission beds.
The incident allegedly occurred on Independence Eve when businessman Gladman “Dallas” Sekawawana was admitted at the hospital as an emergency case after he had been attacked and robbed by a group of armed robbers.
Dallas is a former leader of the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association and is the Director of Football at Harare social football club, Jameson Boys.
He was on his way home, in the early hours of Friday on Independence Eve, after consoling a colleague, who had lost his daughter, when he was attacked by a group of armed robbers in Mount Pleasant.
One of the armed robbers’ cars blocked his vehicle from the front, while another car blocked it from behind, before they pounced on him and assaulted him.
They stole his money, cellphone and laptop.
He was taken to Health Point Africa for treatment.
His sister, Diana Sekawawana, claims beds in the medical facility’s general wards were all occupied and Dallas was taken to the ICU, a decision the family is questioning because it claims he wasn’t in such a serious state to be put in the intensive care unit.
She claims that when he questioned this arrangement, there were even attempts to put him in the maternity ward.
Dallas was released from hospital the following day on Independence Day.
Efforts to get a comment from the hospital officials were fruitless as they didn’t respond to the emails H-Metro sent to them last week.
H-Metro is in possession of emails which Diana sent to the hospital’s management.
“I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the care and handling of my brother, Mr Gladman Sekawawana, at your hospital on 17 April 2026.
“On the morning of that day, my brother was brought to your facility as an emergency case following a robbery incident.
“After initial assessment, attending medical staff recommended that he be admitted to a general ward for observation overnight.
“However, we were not informed that the hospital was fully booked at the time.Without consultation or consent from the patient or his next of kin, and due to the unavailability of general admission beds, a decision was made to place him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“This arrangement was not communicated to us at the time, and we were also informed through observation that there was even an attempt to consider transferring him to the maternity ward as an alternative placement.”
Diana added:
“It is important to note that my brother was not in a critical condition requiring ICU admission, and he clearly expressed his preference to be admitted to a general ward, but this was not accommodated.
“We further note that Health Point should improve its admission processes, particularly with regard to bed allocation, patient placement, and clear communication with patients and their next of kin.”
Diana blamed poor communication from staff members at the hospital.
“During this time, we did not receive adequate communication or explanation from the staff on duty, including Nurse Innocent and Nurse Tabetha, regarding the admission decision or available alternatives.
“Additionally, a nurse whose identity has not been disclosed, appears to have misled the patient into writing a letter outlining specific wording and requests intended to formally record dissatisfaction and request service improvement.
“This letter is now reportedly being used by the hospital management, including the Chief Executive Officer, Caroline, in a manner that appears to be against the patient.
“This raises serious concerns regarding fairness, transparency, and the ethical handling of patient communications.”
She added: “Subsequently, the patient was moved back to the casualty department without clear communication, support, or appropriate alternative arrangements.
“When we sought clarification, Nurse Innocent was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for these decisions.
“We requested either appropriate admission arrangements or a refund in order to transfer the patient to another facility or return home.
“Unfortunately, these requests were denied.
“As a result, my brother spent the night in the casualty department under conditions that we consider unacceptable and without proper consent or communication.”
A meeting between the family and hospital representatives on April 21, but they could not resolve the impasse.
“During this meeting, we were deeply disappointed by the conduct of hospital management, particularly the lack of accountability and empathy demonstrated.
“The Chief Executive Officer, Caroline, left the meeting abruptly with her team, leaving our concerns unresolved.
“In addition, we observed what we considered to be inappropriate conduct when the CEO addressed a nurse in a manner that prevented him from speaking in our presence, which we found unprofessional.
“This entire experience has caused significant distress to our family and raises serious concerns about the standard of care, communication, and professionalism at your facility.
“In light of the above, we formally request the following:
1.A full refund of all admission fees paid, as the agreed and expected services were not appropriately delivered.
2.A written response addressing the concerns raised in this letter.
3.Assurance of corrective measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”
Mathew Masinge