Still no home for hundreds of psychiatric patients
'Little progress made in finding homes for psychiatric patients.'
The Gauteng Health Department has made little progress in finding new homes for about 1 900 psychiatric patients.
These patients will be discharged at the end of March because of the cancellation of its contract with Life Healthcare Esidimeni and other similar institutions, said Jack Bloom, the DA Gauteng shadow MEC for Health.
In November the Herald reported that Randfontein’s Life Esidimeni mental hospital will be closing, leaving hundreds of patients and workers destitute.
During a meeting at the time emotions ran high when parents and family members with loved ones at the hospital received the news. One thing was clear – the closure is not something families are welcoming or are considering.
Malik Mosesanyane, hospital manager of Life Esidimeni confirmed the hospital will be closing officially on 31 March due to a lack of funds.
“On Tuesday 19 January I visited the Waverley Care Centre in Germiston run by Esidimeni. They have 640 patients, of which only 98 are well enough to be discharged.
“The difficulty with some of these patients, however, is that they do not have identity documents, or do not have family to go to, or are foreigners. Another 1 300 patients are housed by Esidimeni at the Randwest Care Centre in Randfontein.
Esidimeni used to look after more than 2 000 patients with chronic psychiatric disorders and severe intellectual disorders, but has managed to reduce this to only about 1 900 patients by discharging patients to suitable NGOs.
“Late last year an urgent court interdict was sought against the department by three mental health NGOs on behalf of patients’ relatives. The department agreed not to discharge any patients until the end of January and to consult on a plan for alternative placement for the patients.
“The department claimed it would be able to look after all the patients by the end of March by placing them in existing government facilities and with NGOs. But no progress has been made with renovations to the identified facilities. There is no way that the facilities will be ready to take patients by the end of March, and NGOs do not have the capacity to take large numbers either.
“Meanwhile, the patients’ relatives are increasingly anxious as the deadline approaches. The department should extend the contract with Esidimeni for at least another six months, otherwise there will be a human disaster if the patients are forced onto the streets,” Bloom said.
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