Gauteng’s huge burden of psychiatric care costs

MORE than 100 psychiatric patients cannot be discharged from state hospitals because no suitable facilities can be found for them in Gauteng.

Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa, in a written reply to questions in the provincial legislature‚ confirmed that 107 patients were affected.

DA MPL Jack Bloom‚ who asked the questions‚ said yesterday that it cost about R6.8 million a month to keep these patients in three psychiatric hospitals:

ý Weskoppies Hospital – 51 patients costing R53 000 a month each;

ý Sterkfontein Hospital – 38 patients costing R47 000 a month each;

ý Tara Hospital – 18 patients costing R129 000 a month each.

Ramokgopa said in her reply that patients were discharged once they were assessed as stable.

If they were unable to live alone or with family‚ they were discharged to contracted care centres or licensed NGOs.

The subsidy for mental health patients in approved NGOs ranged from R1 249 to R4 096 per month.

“The solution is to increase the subsidy so that more NGOs are able to take discharged psychiatric patients and provide the continuing care that they need‚” Bloom said.

“Meanwhile‚ many patients desperately need treatment at psychiatric hospitals but cannot be admitted because beds are occupied by patients who should have been discharged.”

Health ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba found earlier this year that the Department of Health was negligent when it moved 1 900 patients from Life Healthcare facilities to poorly equipped NGOs. Nearly 100 people died subsequently.