SA psychiatric patients ‘died of dehydration and starvation’

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SA psychiatric patients ‘died of dehydration and starvation’

2:01 CAT | 02 Feb 2017

Gallo / Families and community members protest in October 2016 over the deaths of at least 37 psychiatric patients after they were moved from a hospital to NGOs. This week a report by the Health Ombud said at least 94 died and officials were responsible.

Qedani Mahlangu, a regional health minister in South Africa, has resigned following a scathing report on the deaths of 94 psychiatric patients in Gauteng province last year.

The report by the country’s health ombudsman says most of the patients, whose care is paid for by the Gauteng province, died of diarrhoea, dehydration and starvation.

In his report Malegapuru Makgoba said the deaths occurred between March and December last year when 1,900 patients were transferred by the health department from a licensed mental institution, Life Esidimeni, to 27 non-governmental organisations which had “invalid licences” to look after mentally ill people.

Dr Makgoba said that Gauteng’s health department was negligent and reckless when it hurriedly moved patients with the intention of saving money: “Therefore the patients died unlawfully.”

The Gauteng health department has always maintained the number of those who died was 36.

Dr Makgoba said when Ms Mahlangu publicly announced the figure of 36 in the Gauteng legislature last September, 77 patients had already died.

The report – 94 Silent Deaths and Counting – said only one person died from mental illness.

The report recommended that law enforcement agencies investigate further.

The ombudsman’s probe was prompted by complaints from families who were desperately searching for their loved ones.

Dr Makgoba was visibly angry when he delivered the findings of his report live on television today.

Quoting from Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable, he said: “We would fail that test of Mahatma Gandhi in the way we treated our most vulnerable.”

Source: BBC