Cape Town - Western Cape health authorities have extended a contract with the Life Esidimeni medical group to avoid a repeat of the Gauteng tragedy in which patients died after they were moved to NGOs.
Life Esidimeni suffered reputational damage after 118 of its patients died when the Gauteng government moved its patients to other facilities to cut costs.
DA Western Cape spokesperson on health Lorraine Botha called on the provincial department to ensure that Life Esidimeni Mitchells Plain Intermediate Facility conduct a smooth and careful transition to its new, contracted, service provider.
The contract of Life Esidimeni, which provides care for approximately 200 psychiatric patients, ended in August, but was extended until the end of December.
Botha said the move would give the new service’s personnel an opportunity to familiarise themselves with both the patients and the facility.
Provincial Health Department head Dr Beth Engelbrecht said: “To ensure the well-being of our patients is prioritised, we started well in advance with the procurement process of a new contract for a new service provider. This process is prescribed, since the current five-year contract with service provider Life Esidimeni expires at the end of December. The procurement process was fair and transparent.
“The department’s pro-activeness in establishing the new contract so early allows for continuous care to patients without interruptions, whether with current or new contract. As is the current practice, we will continue with regular monitoring.”
Botha said she was pleased that none of the patients would be moved from the facility during the transition period, and that patients would remain in care until ready to be discharged.
“This smooth transition is vital, as the Western Cape department should ensure the entire process is handled with the greatest caution and clarity, and
the mental health care provided to patients is sustained and uninterrupted,” Botha said.
“To date, this led to the unfortunate and tragic death of more than 100 patients when their transfer from the Life Esidimeni facility was not handled with the necessary care and due process. I do hope the inquiry currently under way in Gauteng will bring some form of closure to all the families affected by this terribly unfortunate incident,” she said.
The Life Esidimeni saga in Gauteng led to more than 100 people dying after they were discharged from Life Esidimeni homes in May and June last year and placed in hospital or NGOs.
By February‚ 118 were dead. Another 23 died between February and September.
At least 1 700 patients were moved from Life Esidimeni after the Gauteng Health Department terminated its contract with the Life Esidimeni group.
Emails sent to Life Esidimeni were not replied to and phone calls to its Johannesburg head office went unanswered.