The inquest into the Life Esidimeni tragedy has been halted until 30 August in the Gauteng High Court, reports TimesLIVE.
The hearing is intended to determine what led to the deaths of 144 psychiatric patients and make recommendations on who should be held accountable and whether criminal prosecutions are warranted.
Despite months of preparations and planning, the hearing has been unable to proceed smoothly due to complications with legal representation and conflicts of interest. Now the matter has again been postponed because some lawyers did not have proper access to case documents and others had not yet consulted their witnesses.
The inquest is to hear witnesses testify about how, in 2016, the Gauteng Health Department terminated its contract with Life Esidimeni for the full-time care of 1 300 psychiatric patients.
This was despite the SA Society of Psychiatrists, or Sasop, warning the department about the likely consequences of terminating the Life Esidimeni contract, and predicting the negative outcomes, including loss of lives.
Despite the warnings, the patients were removed from Life Esidimeni hospitals and either released into the care of their families or dropped off with unregistered NGOs set up to take care of the patients. The move led to the deaths of 144 patients – many having starved to death.
Full TimesLIVE report – Life Esidimeni inquest stalls again
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
The long and painful road to the Life Esidimeni inquest
Inquest spotlights HPCSA and SANC foot dragging over Life Esidimeni
Life Esidimeni survivors face bleak future — NGOs