‘None of our patients died from poor care‚ neglect’ - Life Esidimeni responds to reports of 462 deaths

Life Healthcare says the 462 patient deaths at its Life Esidimeni healthcare facilities over four years were natural and not caused by neglect or malnutrition.

Weekend media reports revealed this toll for the period from October 2011 to June 2016.

Following the termination of the public-private partnership with the Gauteng Department of Health‚ at least 94 severely mentally ill patients died in NGOs from hunger‚ thirst‚ pneumonia and untreated diseases.

Nilesh Patel‚ executive Life Healthcare Services Operations‚ told TimesLIVE that the deaths at the NGOs and at the Life Esidimeni homes were not the same.

“Absolutely‚ it [462] is a big number and any death is not a positive outcome at all. It is devastating to those affected and involved. We can 100% confirm that none of our patients died from poor care‚ from neglect‚ from dehydration‚ from malnutrition and for not receiving medication.

“We can attest to the situation and circumstances around all of the deaths. Each of deaths were recorded. Our duty of care has been fulfilled in every case.”

All data on the deaths was submitted to the ombudsman‚ who found there were three to four deaths per 100 patients at Life Esidimeni facilities over the years versus seven deaths per 100 patients who died at NGOs last year.

Patel said the Life Healthcare group did raise concerns multiple times about the project to remove almost 1400 patients from its facilities and place them with relatives or at NGOs.

• READ MORE: Timeline of events surrounding Esidimeni scandal A timeline of the events that led to the death of 94 mentally ill patients

When health MEC Qedani Mahlangu announced the termination of the private-public contract with Life Esidimeni‚ it offered to sell its Life Esidimeni premises to the Gauteng Department of Health.

It even provided options for the department to buy the facilities over time if the department didn’t have finances upfront.

The idea of a sale had been welcomed by head of department Barney Selebano‚ but he was later sidelined from the project‚ according to Health Ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba's report.

The department never replied to this offer - “we didn’t get a response‚” said Patel.

Life Esidimeni psychiatric staff also offered to inspect the NGOs to check they were of a good quality‚ as the ombudsman's report recorded‚ but this offer was never taken up. One psychiatrist working for an Esidimeni home resigned out of conscience over the project.

Patel said it had offered‚ on more than one occasion‚ to provide empty facilities that are not in use to the department but has not heard from them. It wrote to the department after the release of Makgoba's report last week about working with it at one if its facilities. It has not received a response.

“The staff had been traumatised by the move and the loss of their patients‚” he said.

Some staff had worked at Life Esidiemeni facilities for 30 years. Mahlangu had promised to hire some of the Life Esidimeni staff and had done so. But she did not hire the most vulnerable and lowly paid - the cleaners and caterers‚ said Patel.

– TMG Digital/TimesLIVE