Patients’ deaths show up broader crisis

THE recent media coverage of the deaths of psychiatric patients in Gauteng has highlighted the appalling state of mental healthcare in the state system in South Africa.

This has long been obvious to any health or social worker involved in primary healthcare.

From the scarcity of psychiatrists and properly trained mental healthcare nurses and medical officers, to underresourced outpatient clinics and the shortage of beds for acute and chronic psychiatric patients, the neglect is clear.

The list of medicines available for prescription in state psychiatric care is limited by cost constraints, with reliance on many drugs long discontinued in private care due to unacceptable side effects. This contributes to the high number of patients who interrupt or stop treatment.

The shortage of acute-care beds means only severely psychotic or aggressive patients are admitted; the rest are simply sent home on medications in the care of family.

Many families simply cannot cope with the demands of a chronically mentally ill relative, and abandon or neglect them.

Psychotherapy is virtually nonexistent in the state system, and psychological and counselling services are woefully inadequate, especially for African-language speakers.

NGOs working with homeless people are frequently faced with mentally ill people living on the streets.

Trying to find care for these patients is virtually impossible — state psychiatric hospitals will only take patients referred from other psychiatric units and in most cases are full.

Perhaps one positive to come out of the Gauteng scandal could be increased funding and staffing for psychiatric care across the country, and increased public awareness of the challenges faced by psychiatric patients and their families. — Dr Stephen Carpenter, Botha’s Hill

The perfect accessory

I LOVED Craig Jacobs and his Joan Rivers-style state of the nation fashion commentary, “Sona belles and busts” (February 12).

His critiques were well thought-out and funny, with just enough harshness to make me spill my coffee.

Top marks for the piece. — Lee-Ann Mayimele, Johannesburg

Legality is not legitimacy

I RESPECTFULLY differ from Peter Bruce’s statement in “Nice speech, too bad No 1 didn’t understand it” (February 12) that it is no good trying to argue that Jacob Zuma is an illegitimate president.

Bruce does not differentiate between legality and legitimacy. There is no argument about Zuma’s legality as president, but he is undoubtedly not a legitimate one.

Legitimacy means things like correctness, conformity to the law and the quality of being acceptable. So in terms of Zuma’s actions and track record, the EFF is quite correct to depict him as illegitimate. — Gerrit Olivier, Strand

Frightening track record

IN his 2017 state of the nation address, Zuma made it clear that it was time for more radical action to address poverty and wealth inequality in South Africa, as reported in “Colouring in sketchy outlines of radical economic transformation” (February 12).

He said nothing about how this was to be done — but should we not be extremely worried, considering the damage the Zuma-led ANC has done to our economy by just its ordinary efforts?

Why would voters trust Zuma in the more radical approach when his standard approach has virtually ruined the SABC, SAA, the post office, education, healthcare and our economy in general?

Zuma is simply doubling down on the failed strategies that got us here in the first place. — Rob Nicolai, Howick

Pirates fans score own goal

REGARDING the violence and destruction by Orlando Pirates fans last week, mindsets in defeat and acceptance of losing need to be changed.

Must it always turn violent if things do not go your way? Many English teams have lost by six goals but have never behaved like this.

Pirates will have to play without fans next time. — Baba Saloojee, Rustenburg

More to the US than Trump

I WISH the press in general and the Sunday Times in particular would present a more balanced view of the US.

Had it not been for its military power and courageous leaders and soldiers, we might all be speaking German or Japanese today.

One of the problems the US has had is poor leadership. Bill Clinton, the Bushes and Barack Obama all made bad use of their country’s military power, provoked or otherwise.

Good political leaders are hard to come by. Many may consider Maggie Thatcher to have been a superb leader. But, including perhaps one each from Australia, France and Germany, it would be difficult to name a dozen over the past 50 years.

The press is doing its best to project Donald Trump as an unpopular buffoon, and his bull-in-a-china-shop approach is doing him no favours, but in any event, a successful leader is not necessarily popular (take Singapore).

Putting Trump aside, thank goodness that there are over 300 million people in the US who mostly abide by God’s social commandments, who have religious tolerance except where another religion seeks to destroy their own, who would dearly love to know that their sons and daughters will not be called upon to protect the peoples of other nations in combat or otherwise, and who deserve respect for the outcomes of their own space exploration and other incredible inventions and discoveries. — C Richards, Johannesburg

A pair of buffoons

SO now Trump calls our president? It’s nothing but two buffoons discussing world affairs — a comedy of horrors. — Lucky Mgijima, Gonubie