04 April 2022
MEDIA STATEMENT
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The woman, registered as Anelisa Moyeni in our hospital records arrived at the hospital with the baby on the afternoon of March 16, 2022 in a critical condition.
On arrival in the hospital, she presented herself as a single parent, she did not know the whereabouts of the infant's father, but provided his name and contact number on hospital records as one of the next of kin.
The child was admitted but unfortunately demised the same evening in hospital.
She failed to produce any official documentation of the child and claimed she had a home birth on December 21, 2021.
She further claimed that the following day after delivery she took the child to Bhisho Hospital for examination, where she claimed to have been given a Road to Health card.
Bhisho Hospital records do not reflect her visit to the maternity, and that of obtaining a Road to Health card on December 22, 2021 as she had claimed.
When health officials requested for the Road to Health card, the woman said the card burnt in a shack and that she never applied for a birth certificate for her deceased baby.
The following morning after the child's death, Moyeni approached the hospital mortuary and requested that the child be cremated and left the hospital without any notification.
On March 22, 2022, the hospital noticed that the woman had not come back to claim the body of the child.
Hospital officials made calls to all the contact numbers of the relatives provided by the woman, including that of the said father of baby reflecting on the register with no success.
In tracing the mother of the deceased, on March 23, 2022, the hospital social workers visited the address she had provided and also involved the community leader of Tolofiyeni village but she was not known in the area.
It is at this point that the hospital involved the South Africa Police Services in search of the woman. On March 24, 2022, the police visited the address she had provided but also could not find her as well.
Both the facility and the police have done all the interventions in trackng the whereabouts of the mother of the deceased baby girl without any luck, and requests the public assistance in finding her or any of her relatives.
The woman is a tall lady, with intermediate structure, coffee colour, was wearing a skirt, with brown long sleeve top, when she was last seen at Grey Hospital.
Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of the woman is urged to call the SAPS or Ms Nomzingisi Mnyiphika, Grey hospital CEO on 060 563 1398.
The remains of the child are kept at Grey Hospital mortuary.
Issued by Eastern Cape Department of Health.
For enquiries, contact:
Mr Mkhululi Ndamase, MEC’s Media Liaison Officer on 071 851 8338
Ms Yonela Dekeda, Acting Manager Communications, 083 378 0968