Two Members Of South African Government Blamed For Patient Deaths

A Pretoria court concluded today that the negligence of two members of the South African Government caused the deaths, between 2016 and 2017, of some of the psychiatric patients who were transferred to unapproved care centers.

In those years, at least 144 psychiatric patients died of pneumonia, dehydration or diarrhea following their transfer to unprepared locations.

According to a Government inquiry, more than 1,300 patients were hastily transferred to 27 "ill-prepared" facilities, compared to "concentration camps", as part of a cost-cutting measure.

The patients' families were not informed of their transfer.

In October 2015, the Ministry of Health in Gauteng, the province in which Johannesburg and Pretoria are located, announced the termination of contracts with several Esidimeni hospitals, which specialize in long-term psychiatric hospitalization.

Gauteng provincial health department director Qedani Mahlangu made this decision "despite numerous expert advice and warnings from professionals", said Court of First Instance judge Mmonoa Teffo.

Qedani Mahlangu resigned following the scandal.

"Her conduct led to unfortunate and regrettable deaths, some of which could have been avoided," the judge said.

A report by the country's health watchdog concluded that the centers did not provide enough water and food to the weakest patients, leaving them severely malnourished.

The head of the province's mental health department, Makgabo Manamela, also accused, inspected the care centers at the time, which were "poorly equipped".

"She created the circumstances that made these deaths inevitable," the judge added.

Interviewed by a local television station, Andrew Pieterson, a family member of one of the victims, believes that the authorities "must be held responsible" for this tragedy.

In 2018, the South African Government announced that it had reached an agreement to compensate each family with 200,000 rand (10,200 euros at current exchange rates).

The amount was intended to compensate for funeral expenses, as well as the emotional and psychological trauma caused by the tragedy.

Some families have not yet been compensated, according to Andrew Pieterson.

"The Ministry of Health will respond formally and publicly after analyzing the sentence and its implications," Ministry of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale told France-Presse (AFP) news agency.