Pretoria - The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday raised concerns about psychiatric patients assaulting staff at the Helen Joseph Hospital.
Jack Bloom, the DA’s Gauteng spokesperson for health, said patients at the hospital have assaulted at least 32 staff members and caused extensive property damage in the past year.
He said this included broken windows, damaged doors, electrical cables that were tampered with, and broken basins, taps, and toilet seats.
Bloom said in one of the more serious attacks, a staffer was stabbed by a psychiatric patient and suffered a collapsed lung. The staff member had to be hospitalised.
He said two nurses and a psychiatrist were bitten, a nurse was hit by a patient who broke her glasses, a guard was stabbed with a knife and ended up in casualty with a collapsed lung and a psychiatric patient picked up a wheelchair and tried to throw it at staff.
“These shocking figures are revealed in a written reply by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature,” Bloom said.
Bloom said the incidents of attacks on staff have “shot up because of a massive increase in psychiatric patients after the fire at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital led to the closure of the psychiatric unit.”
According to Bloom, there are only 45 beds for psychiatric patients but the hospital sees about 90 psychiatric patients every day.
“Another problem is a shortage of toilets for the patients.
“Desperate staff phone other psychiatric units every day for possible beds but mostly none are available.”
Bloom said Mokgethi told the legislature that there had been attempts, “to discharge patients who, despite not yet being psychiatrically well, are deemed a low risk to self/others and have opened a discharge clinic on a Monday to review these patients in the outpatient department.
Bloom said extra staff and security are urgently needed at the hospital.
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