Shocking testimony from family member at Life Esidimeni hearings
THE dying wish of Life Esidimeni patient Jaco Stolts’s father was that his mentally challenged son would be taken care of.
Now his sister Sandra de Villiers cannot come to terms with Stolts’s death at the hands of a state institution.
De Villiers was the first family witness to testify in the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings that have been set up to answer on why this tragedy, in which at least 141 adult psychiatric patients died, occurred. Her testimony shocked the audience. Stolts‚ who had the mental capacity of a nine-year-old‚ “was happy with so little and just wanted pens and paper to draw”, De Villiers recalled. But eventually a lack of water and food, and poor care led to him dying at Mamelodi Hospital.
Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and the director of mental health in Gauteng, Makgoba Manamela, forced Life Esidimeni psychiatric patients into ill-equipped NGOs.
Stolts had lived at the Cullinan Care and Rehabilitation Home for 18 years‚ but in May last year he was “sacrificed” to make way for Life Esidimeni patients and moved into an NGO on the centre’s premises‚ De Villiers said.
On a visit there‚ when her brother drank two litres of Coke and was still thirsty, she realised something was wrong.
De Villiers organised with Solidarity trade union to donate food‚ linen‚ clothes‚ and other items to the ill-equipped NGO.
A few weeks later‚ without her knowledge‚ Stolts was moved back to the Cullinan centre‚ which was by now bursting at the seams with Life Esidimeni patients.
In September last year‚ when she noticed how sick he was and heard him coughing‚ she took him to a private doctor because there was “never a state doctor at Cullinan Care and Rehabilitation Centre”.
She said Stolts had said he was being hit‚ but was too scared to tell her by whom.
Doctors found marks and injuries on his body and said he was dehydrated and malnourished‚ and had very high blood sugar. He was given a prescription. De Villiers returned him to the centre. “He was crying‚ saying‚ ‘don’t leave me here’. I felt like I was leaving him in a jail.”
Soon after that she visited and found him in a wheelchair. She said when she asked how he had deteriorated‚ the nurses told her not to be emotional.
Stolts was admitted to hospital on October 4, the day De Villiers said she was told on the phone by nurses he was better.
He was diagnosed in hospital with severe dehydration and kidney damage. He died there 10 days later.
The hearing also heard yesterday that the Life Esidimeni tragedy had a terrible precursor in 2007 when 16 children were moved from a Life Esidimeni home and died in a Soweto NGO. Those who returned were severely dehydrated.
A sobbing manager‚ Dr Morgan Mkhatshwa‚ who had worked at Life Esidimeni facilities‚ said: “Why couldn’t we have learnt from the 2007 incident? Did we choose to just ignore it totally?”
In his testimony he said: “I reminded [the Gauteng Department of Health] of that [incident] and wanted to be sure of no repeat of the same. I was assured the plan was fail-proof.”
Mkhatshwa said he had asked Mahlangu not to go on with the project to move the Life Esidimeni patients.
In one letter‚ Mahlangu apparently said she herself had slept under a stove when growing up‚ and so could the patients.
When he asked her what happened when mentally ill patients became aggressive‚ she replied: “They are put in chains.”
Mkhatshwa explained how he had fought with the department every step of the way to stop harm to patients.
He asked how former Gauteng health head of department Dr Barney Selebano and other doctors in the department had allowed this to happen.
“It was sad for me to see how clinicians could succumb to political pressure. It is bad when we forget the [Hippocratic] oath we took.” –