Mentally ill relatives 'lost' after hospital closes

Sadag was inundated with queries from panicked families who didn’t know where their mentally ill relatives had been taken after Esidimeni Hospital shut down.

Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Health has admitted it failed to inform at least 30 families that their mentally ill relatives were moved from Life Esidimeni Hospital branches to other psychiatric facilities.

For the past three days, many of the panic-stricken families were able to locate their relatives only by visiting the half a dozen other psychiatric facilities set to house the patients after the Esidimeni Hospital shut down.

Late last year, the department terminated the Life Esidimeni Hospital contract. Media reports suggested that the multiple hospital branches held more than 1 900 psychiatric patients.

However, after a high court battle, the department extended the contract until next month so that the patients could either be discharged to their families or readmitted to other psychiatric treatment NGOs and facilities.

The Health Department had promised the patients' relatives that as the transfers began, each family would be notified of the new institution.

But since Thursday, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag), which was part of the coalition of NGOs that prevented the earlier shutdown of the hospitals, has been inundated with messages and phone calls from panicked families who don’t know where their mentally ill relatives were taken.

Operations director Cassey Chambers said that by Monday, between 30 and 40 families had contacted the organisation in a bid to locate their relatives.

Chambers said that on Thursday, hundreds of patients were taken from the Randfontein Esidimeni branch, and one woman who arrived on the scene said nurses were unable to tell her where her relative was being taken.

“A staff member at Randfontein told the family member that they are closing by end of May, and the nurses stopped working last week; it is only cleaners at the clinic,” said Chambers.

Similar stories continued to come through to Sadag, and it was only through a WhatsApp group that relatives were able to organise themselves and visit numerous NGOs and other psychiatric facilities with lists of patient names.

Quanita Mlotshwa, whose sister has been housed at the Waverley branch, said the only way families could find their relatives was by contacting nurses or visiting the facilities.

She said she was originally part of the family committee that interacted with the Health Department, but she hadn't bothered to phone the department as it had lied about keeping families updated.

Another relative, who asked not to be named, said she was informed on Sunday that her sister would be released into her custody, despite being promised that the patient would be admitted to another facility.

Chambers said the recently created family committee being in partnership with the department was meant to prevent such miscommunication from happening. “This was the ticking time bomb we wanted to avoid,” she said.

Sadag was also informed on Monday that many patients had been taken to other facilities with little more than the clothes on their backs, while their medication and other clothing had been left behind.

Gauteng Department of Health spokesman Steve Mabona said Life Esidimeni employees were supposed to call the families.

“However, we have realised they reneged. We will interact with the families in order to allay their fears. We wish to assure them that no one will be lost in the system,” Mabona said.

However, none of the relatives who spoke to The Star had been contacted by the department by Monday afternoon.

Mabona also confirmed that phone lines at the facilities were no longer operating, and asked that families unsure of their relative's location contact the department at 011 355 3375.

Sadag has asked that anyone willing to donate heaters, blankets and warm clothing to the patients, who were moved without their belongings, to contact her at 011 234 4837 or office@anxiety.org.za

shain.germaner@inl.co.za

The Star