Families of ex-Esidimeni patients tell opportunistic lawyers and politicians where to get off

Families of patients who died and were maltreated by inadequate NGOs after being removed from Life Esidimeni facilities are wary of delays in implementing the Health Ombud's recommendations on future care‚ and concerned about lawyers hounding them with a view to future cash settlements.

"We have suffered enough‚ and we will not have people settling political scores in the names of those who died due to gross‚ inhumane negligence. It pains us every time this occurs‚" the Life Esidimeni Family Committee said in a statement issued by Section 27.

"We have already gone through so much. We have had to go through the experience of finding our loved ones long after they died cruel deaths. We have had to go through the experience of seeing how they had wasted away due to the shameless neglect of the Gauteng Department of Health‚ and then had to experience the trauma of identifying their emaciated bodies in so-called mortuaries. And throughout this‚ we have had to deal with the frustration of an incompetent and uncaring provincial health department.

"We have suffered enough‚ without having to watch self-serving politicians trying to make a name for themselves through our pain."

The statement comes as the National Assembly will today finally debate the Life Esidimeni disaster.

• READ MORE: Don't hound us: Life Esidimeni families warn lawyersThe families of Life Esidimeni victims have asked to stop being hounded by lawyers.

The families said: "It is appropriate for the nation to focus on the state of mental health care services and the loss and suffering of our loved ones. It is essential that there is a proper investigation into what happened‚ who was responsible‚ and who must be held accountable. Most of it all‚ it is crucial that there is restorative justice‚ and a sense of closure for us as families. But we wish to make it very clear that‚ in the process‚ the lives of our loved ones should not be used as a political football by any of the parties represented in Parliament."

The families said that regardless of the Parliamentary debate‚ they wanted urgent attention be paid to the recommendations made by the Ombud.

"They cannot wait for the National Assembly to finish its work‚ and Parliament must not in any way delay the implementation of the report.

"The reality is that many families have not yet found their loved ones‚ and many of our loved ones remain in danger. Many bereaved family members still do not know how their loved ones died‚ when‚ where or how.

"We are anxious to go through the process laid out in the Ombud’s recommendations and we hope that this will be a speedy process.

Tackling the lawyers keen to represent them in potential lawsuits against the government‚ the families said they should back off.

• READ MORE: 'This is how I will protect state patients'‚ says Dr Gwen RamokgopaHere is the pledge by Gauteng MEC for Health‚ Dr Gwen Ramokgopa‚ as she explains how her department will act on the Health Ombudsman Recommendations delivered on 22 February 2017‚ in the wake of the deaths of an estimated 100 mental patients who were moved from formal state care to ill-equipped facilities.

"We are also highly concerned that lawyers continue to approach us even after we advise them we are represented and do not want their services. Many of us have worked with Section 27 since 2015. We encourage other bereaved families who want advice or representation to reach out to the Family Committee..."

The families affected by the Life Esidimeni tragedy called on lawyers "to live up to the ethical and legal requirements of their profession and to refrain from the callous practice of hounding families".

"As families‚ we stand together to say to political parties and opportunistic lawyers: let us grieve.

"We say to political parties and government: let us advise and guide your action. Let us ensure accountability. The lost lives of our loved ones are not tools to be used or points to be scored. We deserve a dignified ending to this nightmare."