Johannesburg - The rape of a psychiatric patient at the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto has again brought the safety of staff and patients at the institution to question.
A male psychiatric patient allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old patient on Saturday.
After the incident, the patient was moved from the Bheki Mlangeni facility to the Nthabiseng Thuthuzela Care Centre at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
According to the DA Gauteng spokesperson on health, Jack Bloom, the latest rape is the 11th incident of violence at the Soweto hospital this year.
Earlier this year, hospital chief executive Ruth Mabyana was suspended after a psychiatric patient allegedly stabbed 85-year-old patient Kholisile Edwin Zazayokwe to death in May.
Acting Health MEC Jacob Mamabolo reinstated her in August despite her not being cleared by the investigation or the findings being made public.
In January, the DA started a petition to get Mabyana and senior management removed from the hospital over a jobs-for-cash scandal that hit the institution.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Kwara Kekana did not comment on how far investigations into Zazayokwe’s death were.
Instead, in a statement, Kekana said Mamabolo had set up a team to investigate the latest alleged sexual assault.
“I want to reassure members of the public that the issue of safety in our facilities is a priority.
“We continue to work with law enforcement agencies to strengthen preventative and response measures,” Mamabolo said.
He added that the teen and his family were receiving psychosocial support and a case had been opened.
A hospital employee said that workers and patients were not safe.
“It is not safe at the hospital. The staff are now concerned that management wants to cover it up. We are scared to speak up about these incidents because we don’t even know how the CEO came back to work,” said the employee, who wanted to be anonymous.
Bloom again called Mabyana the worst hospital chief executive in the province. “It is not forgiveable that yet another assault has occurred on a patient at this hospital.
“New management is needed urgently at the hospital to ensure that patients and staff are in a secure environment without threat of violence.”
The incident at Bheki Mlangeni is one of four alleged rapes at Gauteng hospitals in the last month. At Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre in Pretoria, a male nurse was suspended and criminally charged after allegedly raping a male patient.
At the Tara Psychiatric Hospital, it was alleged that a 15-year-old girl, who is an outpatient, was raped by another patient. At Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, a 16-year-old autistic boy was allegedly raped.
The Star