There were no proper procedures followed in the transfer of mental health patients from Life Esidimeni to inadequate NGOs, according to the sixth witness in the inquest, which resumed virtually at Pretoria High Court on Monday (17 January) after rising on 2 December.
Its aim is to determine if anyone can be held criminally liable for the deaths of the 144 patients who died of malnutrition and neglect after being transferred.
Since its start last year, the inquest has been characterised by witnesses and government officials passing the buck and denying any responsibility for the tragedy.
Hannah Jacobus, now retired, but formerly in charge of checking NGOs’ readiness to receive mental healthcare patients, said no proper processes were followed, and that the time frame was too short to transfer the patients.
She told the court: “The process was rushed. All my colleagues told Dr [Makgabo] Manamela that the time frame was not enough. She told us she was being instructed to do this task. ‘Unusual circumstances’ were her words.”
News24 reports that Manamela, former head of mental health at Gauteng Health, apparently only told the team in December 2015 that patients would be moved from Life Esidimeni to NGOs in March 2016.
“But we needed more time,” said Jacobus, adding that usually, getting NGOs to be compliant took at least three months. Generally, the department would compile a pre-inspection report about the NGO team, the type of community in which it was situated, and what services were available.
There would also be a formal inspection by the mental health team that included social workers, infection control officers, and other professionals.
But Jacobus said none of this was done. “There weren't any processes followed or inspections done,” she said.
In September last year, former Gauteng Health MEC Dorothy Qedani Mahlangu’s counsel had argued that the patients’ deaths could not be attributed to her, while Advocate Laurence Hodes said that even before the department moved the patients to NGOs, mentally ill patients were already dying at Life Esidimeni facilities, with an average of 80 deaths per year being recorded.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Inquest roundup: Life Esidimeni leader wanted to stop patient transfers
Buck-passing at Life Esidimeni inquest
Life Esidimeni inquest: one nurse to 40 patients
Life Esidimeni deaths: ‘Not the fault of Health MEC’
Life Esidimeni: Search continues for 8 missing mental health patients