Mpumalanga psychiatric patients left in lurch by Gauteng health department
Until 2016‚ the Mpumalanga health department had always depended on Gauteng to take in its patients in need of mental healthcare, as it does not have a psychiatric hospital of its own.When the Gauteng health department decided to start moving patients from Life Esidimeni home to nongovernmental organisations (NGOs)‚ Gauteng reviewed its understanding with Mpumalanga‚ leaving the province stranded‚ not knowing what to do with its influx of patients.Mpumalanga then entered into a memorandum of understanding with Limpopo‚ which despite its own constraints‚ has taken in patients transferred from its neighbouring province.It was not immediately clear whether Mpumalanga footed the bill for its patients in Limpopo.This was revealed by officials from both Mpumalanga and Limpopo‚ who were testifying before the South African Human Rights Commission on Wednesday. The commission was probing the state of mental healthcare in the country following the deaths of more than 140 patients after they w...
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