Health Department’s Selebano wishes he could go back and do things differently
Suspended head of the Gauteng Health Department Barney Selebano says if he had foreseen the tragedy after moving patients from the care of Life Esidimeni‚ he would not have ended the contract to close the psychiatric homes and move 1‚712 patients into the care of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). At the end of September 2015‚ Selebano signed the termination contract to end the partnership with JSE-listed Life Healthcare‚ the company that ran the Life Esidimeni facilities. In total, 143 mentally ill patients died‚ mostly in over-crowded‚ under-funded and sometimes unlicensed NGOs. Selebano told the Life Esidimeni hearing on Wednesday, "I wish I could go back to the time and act differently ... if I could have foreseen ... the future, adverse consequences ... the unintended consequences." Selebano was testifying under subpoena as he was head of the department when the move took place. Section 27 advocate Adila Hassim has been cross-examining him as to why he ignored warnings by p...
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