PSYCHIATRIC TRANSFERS
Health boss named in report on patient deaths still at work
Dr Tiego Ephraim Selebano has been implicated in the transfer of more than 1,000 psychiatric patients to unlicensed NGOs
Gauteng health department head Dr Tiego Ephraim Selebano is still in its employ despite his "fingerprints being peppered throughout" the transfer of more than 1,000 psychiatric patients to unlicensed nongovernment organisations (NGOs). Gauteng government spokesman Thabo Masebe confirmed late on Thursday that Selebano remained an employee of the province, but said the director-general in premier David Makhura’s office, Phindile Baleni, "had initiated a process in terms of labour law" to ensure health ombudsman Prof Malegapuru Makgoba’s recommendations were implemented. "I cannot give further details," said Masebe. Makgoba’s report, released on Wednesday, names Selebano as one of the chief orchestrators of the deinstitutionalisation of the more than 1,000 psychiatric patients to unfit facilities. In the report, Makgoba condemned the move as not only ill-advised but also "chaotic and rushed or hurried". Former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu tendered her resignation on the eve of the report...
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