Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
Picture: SUNDAY TIMES

IT APPEARS the Gauteng department of health has tried to remove severely ill psychiatric patients from their psychiatric homes, and place them in a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) for intellectually disabled children, in breach of out of court settlement.

Two NGOs and a society of psychiatrists were in court on Monday afternoon seeking to stop the Gauteng department of health from evicting 54 psychiatric patients from the care home in which they were living.

The battle started in October when the provincial health department announced it was not renewing its contract with the Life Esidimeni Group that houses 1,900 severely ill psychiatric patients in homes for the department of health.

The department had been paying for the care of almost 2,000 mentally ill patients in these facilities at R10,000 per patient per month. The homes provided included constant nursing care and a psychiatrist’s treatment when needed.

Many of the patients were unstable‚ violent and psychotic, and needed 24-hour care‚ according to affidavits prepared by their family members. Some have been abandoned by families and others have not responded to medical treatment.

In December‚ when patients were being discharged despite not being stable‚ the department was taken to court by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group‚ the South African Federation for Mental Health, the South African Society of Psychiatrists and a group of patients’ families.

The health department settled out of court on December 22 by agreeing not to remove any patients from the Life homes and by agreeing to assess each patient’s health individually to determine where they need to be moved to.

The Gauteng department of health agreed in a legal settlement to work out where to place the 1,900 patients in consultation with the NGOs and patients’ relatives.

However‚ a court affidavit prepared at the weekend accuses the department of failing to provide documentation on how many patients had been discharged since December.

The groups are concerned that patients are being discharged early in breach of the court agreement.

Last week‚ the NGOs discovered that 54 adult patients were to be moved on Monday to a home for children who were severely mentally handicapped.

They have asked if the adults, including a patient who is 101 years old and who is said to have dementia or schizophrenia or psychosis, will be appropriately cared for in an NGO that helps children with intellectual disabilities.

Patients’ families have said in affidavits previously prepared that they could not look after their relatives as they required 24-hour supervision.

"The users at Life Esidimeni are‚ as a matter of policy‚ not ready to be discharged to their communities and require a very high level of care‚" read the court papers.

The NGO affidavit said: "…The state has a negative obligation not to reduce the degree of access to healthcare services that are currently available. Put differently‚ the state may not take or permit any regressive measures that cut back on the healthcare services that it has already put in place."

This‚ it said‚ was according to the Constitution.

The department of health has met the families of patients and promised to renovate old state-owned buildings to become new homes. They have also said these mentally ill patients could be housed at Sterkfontien and Weskoppies mental hospitals.

But the NGOs have evidence that these facilities are overcrowded already and cannot care for long term chronic patients.

The earmarked buildings have not been renovated even though Life’s contract comes to an end in June and the patients have nowhere to go.

The Gauteng department of health had not responded to questions put to it at the time of publication.

TMG Digital