The Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (Haitu) has accused the Gauteng department of health of failing to accept full responsibility for the death of a mental patient who died at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital earlier this week.
Haitu stated that they are not shocked that this kind of occurrence happened and anticipate more of them. This because of cost-cutting measures that are implemented by the department.
The 35-year-old patient was admitted to a secluded ward when a fire broke out at the facility, according to the department.
Speaking to Sunday World, Haitu general secretary Lerato Mthunzi expressed concern for its members. This because they are directly involved in giving the public vital healthcare services.
Mental health safety protocols not followed
According to Mthunzi, there are procedures and regulations in place within the medical system. These ensure the wellbeing of individuals with mental illnesses.
“This situation is both sad and avoidable. The patient did not receive the intensive monitoring that a mental health patient should have received. After being placed in a segregated ward, protocol was not observed.”
Mthunzi stated that the healthcare industry is the one most impacted by the significant budget cuts. These cuts are made in all areas of the government, and there is not proper maintenance.
“Maintenance at public healthcare facilities is minimal at best. This is due to the austerity policy that the government has been implementing for many years. Chronic understaffing also has a material impact on the quality of healthcare provision,” she said.
Department must take full responsibility
We advise that they do not blame this situation on its employees. This is because the department does not want to take full responsibility for the incident, said Mthunzi.
“They must own up to their mistakes and refrain from using diligent healthcare personnel as scapegoats. We have been urging the department to provide the industry with sufficient resources for many years. In order to eliminate staff and equipment shortages.”
Mthunzi said the incident is a reminder of the Life Esidimeni tragedy. In that incident, 141 lives were lost. This was as the department attempted to cut costs in the provision of mental health services.
Demands end of austerity measures
“Many of those victims died from neglect and starvation. It seems to us that no lessons were learned from that tragedy.
“Haitu continues to demand the end of austerity. We demand that healthcare must be adequately funded. Anything short of this is a betrayal of millions of black and poor South Africans. Who rely on the government to provide quality healthcare services.”
