Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is in a state of crisis, with psychiatric patients being kept in untenable conditions – but insiders say other state hospitals have the same problems.
Ward 161 at Charlotte Maxeke previously housed patients needing emergency care, but for the past couple of months, it has housed 30 psychiatric patients who are reportedly being kept in deplorable conditions as the hospital battles to cope with an influx of people requiring mental healthcare.
Conditions apparently deteriorated after the hospital began admitting patients after the Life Esidimeni tragedy in 2015, reports Daily Maverick, when 144 psychiatric patients at Life Esidimeni’s psychiatric facilities across Gauteng died from starvation and neglect. The tragedy resulted in 1 500 state patients being removed from facilities run by private healthcare providers and placed in government hospitals.
Charlotte Maxeke has a dedicated psychiatric ward, but there are no empty beds, forcing the hospital to make alternative arrangements by accommodating patients in an open area in the emergency department.
There is little to no privacy, with beds haphazardly placed and pushed against the walls in the hallway. The patients have no access to bathrooms and must use the public facilities near the waiting area, but only when accompanied by nurses or security.
“Maybe once or twice a day, the patients are taken to the bathroom by a nurse or security guard. If they need the bathroom between those times, they either relieve themselves on the floor or go in a plastic bottle. They are being kept like animals. It’s terrible,” a source said.
Daily Maverick visited the hospital last week to verify the conditions.
White burglar bars are installed on the windows of Ward 161, which is protected by two security guards. Looking in from the outside, we saw patients roaming around the dimly lit ward. Some were lying on stretchers in the hallway.
The patients appeared to be heavily medicated, dressed in dirty pyjamas. One had what looked like fresh blood on the front of his hospital gown.
Beyond the deteriorating conditions in which the patients are kept, the source also told Daily Maverick that the situation is unsafe for staff and patients alike.
“There was an incident where a patient lost his temper and attacked a nurse. It escalated, and the patient ended up punching the wall.
“The problem is not with the hospital administration… They are doing the best with what they have. We have sent requests for help to the department but received no response.”
The source said similar issues were plaguing other government facilities in Johannesburg, including Helen Joseph Hospital and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
The Gauteng Department of Health is aware of the situation, with multiple members of staff having written, asking for help, but has reportedly not responded to these requests.
Daily Maverick asked the Health Department for comment, but there was no response by the time of publication. Charlotte Maxeke hospital also failed to respond to requests for comment.
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Psychiatric patients at Charlotte Maxeke can’t use ward bathrooms
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Gauteng psychiatric care in a dire state
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Surge in assaults on staff by psychiatric patients at Helen Joseph Hospital