In February, the deaths of over 100 psychiatric patients grabbed headlines in South africa. are efforts being taken to ensure this does not happen, again?
It is one of South Africa’s greatest tragedies so far – the death of over 100 mentally-ill patients transferred out of a hospital to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) across the country.
The Life Esidimeni hospital had been contracted to the Gauteng government for nearly 40 years, but the former Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, terminated that contract, citing costs, only to result in the transfer, and subsequent death, of the psychiatric patients.
All the 27 NGOs that the patients were transferred to were unlicensed. It angered and shocked Africa.
“This is a provisional number because not all the information we could get from the NGOs was complete. I suspect the number is higher,” said Health Ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba, at a press briefing in Pretoria in February.
In October 2016, Mahlangu had said that in 2014/15, the department paid R323 million ($23.5 million) to Life Esidimeni to treat around 2,378 patients which was too expensive.
“At the time, Mahlangu said she was paying R10,000 per patient, that’s R329 a day at Esidimeni; moving them to NGOs means paying R100 a day. Let me ask you South Africans, what can you do with R100? You can never justify cost-cutting constitutionally if you have been tasked with basic care,” said Makgoba.
This story is from the April-May 2017 edition of Forbes Woman Africa.
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This story is from the April-May 2017 edition of Forbes Woman Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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