Hunterscraig hospital expands
In a first for the private sector in the Eastern Cape, Life Hunterscraig psychiatric hospital in Park Drive will open an assisted ward – one that caters for patients who are too ill to consent to medical treatment.
Speaking about the hospital’s new addition, Andre Burger, who headed the project, said: “Psychiatrists often spoke about extremely unwell patients – you could see the need and understand the profile of patients for whom we needed to provide a service.”
He said theirs was the first licence for an assisted psychiatric ward in a private hospital in the province.
The ward will be opened later this week.
Assisted wards provide a service for patients who are too ill to consent to medical treatment but who are not resisting admission and whose families can provide consent for their admission.
“The severity of the psychiatric disorders that we are seeing is increasing,” Burger said.
Six nurses have been appointed at the facility to staff the unit.
“The response to our advertisement for additional positions has been overwhelming and we are encouraged that there is such a keen interest in psychiatry by suitably qualified and experienced nurses.”
He said no such facility had previously existed in the private sector in the province.
Families of assisted patients, despite having medical aid or the financial means to pay for treatment in a private facility, had to seek help at state facilities up to now.
However, Burger said patients who refused treatment could still only be committed in the public sector.
“The deterioration in the economy and rise in unemployment appear to be the primary factors driving the growth in psychiatric disorders in South Africa and in our community,” Burger said.
“The financial pressures that most people face and the stress that many are under in the workplace lead to various psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorders, adjustment disorders and schizophrenia. These would typically relate to specific problems such as marital or job losses, especially where a patient does not have an emotional support system.”
Burger said patients were referred to the ward by a psychiatrist but were admitted through the procedures prescribed in the Mental Health Act.
“These processes are designed by law to protect the rights of the assisted patient given that they can’t give their consent,” he said.
He said medical aids provide benefits for assisted patients.
While Hunterscraig was classified as a heritage site as the original residence was constructed in 1905, the new ward was constructed at the back end of the property as part of a modern extension, he said.
The ward is divided into two rooms with four beds each, a medical room for patients with other medical conditions, and a seclusion room.
It has a small outside garden, with non-toxic plants.
Having a loved one who is mentally ill or suffering from depression, anxiety or addiction can be a difficult road to walk, but even more so when the associated state and/or private healthcare support is severely stretched or just not available. An increase in mental health conditions such as addiction, drug-induced mania, depression and anxiety has been noted in the Bay in recent years, and is reflective of a universal trend. Many are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the pressures of modern life. Stress from financial worry and/or unemployment has also been singled out as an additional contributing factor in the Eastern Cape. Sufferers may find release in alcohol and/or drugs, often with lasting consequences.
Previously, even those with medical aid had to make use of already heavily overburdened state facilities when it came to admitting a loved one for psychological intervention. It does not help that the mental health component of the Eastern Cape department of health has been under administration since December 2018.
Hunterscraig, one of the Bay’s most established shortterm mental healthcare facilities, has seen patient needs increase first-hand and that is why the announcement of its new assisted admissions and seclusion ward – the first such private facility in the province – must be welcomed.
The new ward with its 10 beds and additional isolation room signals an important investment in private mental health services in the city and province, and, once operational, will help take some of the strain off state facilities.
It will also see the creation of six new positions for nursing and other staff.
In addition it will relieve the pressure on families who, besides having to navigate the legal system for a loved one in need of mental health care, would up to now also have had to navigate the state health system.
A multimillion-rand investment of this nature further sends an important message that treatment of the psyche is every bit as important as the treatment of the physical body.