Aged between a few months and 70 years, patients were left 'to their fate'. The information is forwarded to Angop by Lizete Tumba, a social worker in what is one of the largest hospitals in the capital, serving more than 2000 patients a day.
According to this person, the 17 patients are hospitalized in units of various medical specialties, most of whom are in the Surgery and Orthopedics service. Most of these cases are also of accidents on the public road.
Lizete Tumba explains that there are several cases of abandoned patients who arrived at the Luanda hospital through their family or even the police. However, the contact ends here. The social worker says she believes that many of the patients taken by family members are 'forgotten' in the hospital for economic reasons.
The oldest case of abandonment by family members at the Luanda General Hospital is that of Balaia Marcelino, a native of Lunda Norte. At the age of 70, the patient was admitted to the hospital in July, having been in the internal medicine area since that date. Eight months later, the institution continues to make efforts to find the elderly woman's relatives, without success.
"Family members should not forget that they are Africans, a people that are guided by human values and love for their neighbors", warned the social worker.
In these cases, after receiving the patients, the institution conducts a social diagnosis, and if justified, the patients are directed to psychosocial monitoring.
