Province’s mentally ill left in the lurch
MBOMBELA - With no state-run psychiatric hospitals in the province, Mpumalanga DA’s chairperson, Jane Sithole, said people have been forced to travel and seek help in other provinces.
Sithole said in a statement on June 3 that psychiatric patients in Mpumalanga have been neglected for years.
“In 2017 the then MEC of health, Gillion Mashego, stated that a planned psychiatric hospital had been replaced with plans for a psychiatric ward in Kwa Mhlanga District Hospital, which was to be completed this year,” said Sithole.
“In 2012 the Mpumalanga Department of Health built a psychiatric ward at Ermelo Hospital, but due to a lack of adherence to required specifications, the hospital ended up using the ward for storage.
“It has been 27 years since the dawn of democracy and the people of Mpumalanga are yet to see a fully fledged psychiatric hospital. It is incomprehensible that we can go on with our daily lives and ignore those who are suffering from mental illnesses.
“Families in Mpumalanga have no choice but to seek medical and long-term treatment for their loved ones who suffer from any form of psychiatric illness in other provinces.”
Lowvelder had reported in May this year that White River residents had several incidents involving homeless people who seem to be experiencing mental illnesses, psychoses, disorientation and/ or hallucinations in recent months, causing severe distress to residents.
In one case, a man who seems to be experiencing a mental illness, has been stalking an estate agent based in White River.
The estate agent, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had reported this to the police numerous times and that a few days after they had taken him to Themba Hospital for treatment, the man was back. He reportedly broke a hospital window and escaped the property to return to White River.
In another incident, the man walked into the NG Kerk Witrivier one Sunday and tried to start the service that morning.
There are also reports of a woman experiencing a mental illness outside the White River Mosque. Residents said the woman had forced down car windows and filled them up with rubbish, and walked around all day blowing a whistle, sometimes all night.
Sithole said it was not the police’s mandate to look after psychiatric patients and that they could only be held for a period of 48 hours.
She added that Themba Hospital was not a psychiatric hospital and did not have any psychiatric wards.
“We are letting these people down in a very bad and painful way. Not a single psychiatric hospital has been built to accommodate those who need the help.”
Sithole added families looking after members experiencing mental illness did not have the means and facilities to properly look after and treat their loved ones.
“We cannot just ignore this issue and turn a blind eye. The number of people experiencing mental illness is only increasing and we have families calling us and asking for assistance more and more frequently.”
Sithole called on the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development’s
MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, to respond to questions they had raised in legislature on May 11 regarding long-term care for psychiatric patients in the province.
Media queries sent to the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development had not been responded to at the time of going to press.
‘We are letting these people down in a very bad and painful way. Not a single psychiatric hospital has been built to accommodate them’