A heartbroken mother, Cicilia, has accused Johannesburg’s Helen Joseph Hospital of negligence, alleging that a series of errors and indifferent staff denied her son, Nicholas Johannes van Burick, his final wish—to see her one last time. Van Burick died alone at the hospital on Saturday, leaving Cicilia devastated and furious.
Cicilia had been searching for her son since July and only learned of his death through videos by broadcaster Tom London, who had been documenting alleged misconduct by the hospital staff. The footage, which quickly went viral, shows doctors discussing bonuses, cars, and dining out while patients were neglected around them.
“All Nicholas wanted was for someone to call me. He kept asking Tom to help him reach his mother, but I wasn’t there when he needed me most,” Cicilia lamented. “I had already lost a daughter and my husband, and now this. How much more can one person endure?”https://twitter.com/KayaON959/status/1833087233194135812?s=19
London, who was documenting conditions at Helen Joseph Hospital, confirmed that Van Burick repeatedly asked staff to contact his mother. However, the hospital failed to locate her. “They called the number on his file, but the person who answered said they didn’t know him,” London explained, speculating that a misspelling of Van Burick’s name might have contributed to the confusion.
Cicilia, who had tirelessly searched for her son, only discovered the truth when she recognized him in one of London’s videos. She recounted the last time they spoke in July when security guards found Van Burick beaten on a street in Newlands and assured her he would be taken to the hospital. Cicilia visited the hospital mortuary and searched for him, but she was unsuccessful until seeing the videos.
“When I saw Tom London’s footage, I knew it was my son. It was God’s way of helping me find closure,” she said. She traveled from Scottburgh in KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng to claim Van Burick’s body but faced further hurdles, including a refusal to release his body until payment was made.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba confirmed that Van Burick’s body remained in the ward for over two hours after his death. Despite attempts to contact Van Burick’s family, the hospital was unsuccessful, and only through a family friend did they finally connect with Cicilia.
A memorial service for Nicholas Johannes van Burick will be held at Lede in Christus Kerk in Roodepoort on Thursday.