63 homes found for dumped patients

Only 63 of the 763 psychiatric patients who were dumped at illegal NGOs in Gauteng have been transferred to new facilities, Gauteng health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa said yesterday.

She was giving an update on the transfer of patients from the illegal NGOs. A month ago health ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba gave the department 45 days to find suitable accommodation for the patients.

The patients had been taken out of Esidimeni Life Centres, where many of them had lived for years, and were dumped in makeshift care facilities to save the department money.

"Out of 763 patients in various NGOs, only 63 were successfully transferred to different facilities this week, with the remainder of 700 patients still at the NGOs," Ramokgopa said.

The department would be "paying R459 per patient per day" at the Selby Park private hospital in Johannesburg, which has 642 beds, as well as other facilities that cater for psychiatric patients.

The MEC said eight officials implicated in the crisis had been suspended.

"There [are] 20 NGOs that are still [caring for] patients," Ramokgopa said, adding that it was difficult to contact families of the patients.

"We are working as hard as we can to meet the 45 working days recommendation."