Esidimeni Campaign

 

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In October 2015 Gauteng’s Department of Health terminated the contract of Life Healthcare Esidimeni Hospitals which provides residential care and treatment of “around 2378” people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities. Provincial Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu office issued a statement that the termination of the contract with Life Healthcare Esidimeni Hospital “is in line with the Mental Health Care Act no 17 of 2002‚ which encourages mental health care practitioners to treat mental health care users in the least restrictive environment”.

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21 October 2015

Gauteng Health terminates Life Healthcare Esidimeni contract[4]. This is followed by a radio interview in November 2015 where the MEC stated “ I can't close a facility that government doesn't own... The relationship with Life Healthcare Esidimeni Hospital started in 1979. Over a period of time we saw ourselves paying over R300m. As things stand we do not have the ability to continue with that relationship.”

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3 December 2015 International Disability Day

The South African Mental Health Federation issued a statement regarding closure of Esidimeni facilities. It stated that:"Statements made by The Department of Health regarding the termination of the Life Esidimeni contract seem to suggest that the contract termination is being done in the spirit of deinstitutionalisation. However deinstitutionalisation (or downscaling of institutionalised care) ideally needs to go hand in hand with the upscaling of community based care, and there is no indication that this seems to be the Departments intention. Deinstitutionalisation should involve a purposeful effort to support and upscale community based mental health services including increased funding and other resources to NGO’s. At present, it seems that NGO’s will receive no additional financial support (apart from a small subsidy) from government to enable them to absorb these additional clients. NGO’s operating in the mental health sector are in many cases already operating to full capacity and a sudden and overwhelming demand for services (such as spaces within residential facilities) could prove to be very difficult for NGO’s to manage without substantial increased financial support from Government. Another challenge related to this is the fact that most of the mental health care users currently housed within the Life Esidimeni facilities are at the higher end of the care spectrum, in many cases requiring intensive, 24-hour clinical care, which is not in-line with the type of services rendered by NGOs at community level in many cases.

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20 December 2015

An in depth investigation called Without ID , Without Family was compiled by  Susan Comrie with photographs by Leon Sadik on the situation including the buildings which the Department of Health had earmarked for residents (estimated 1200) that could not return to their families. The evidence is clear that these are unsuitable for human habitation. The report can be accessed here: Without-id-without-family

 

16 February 2016:

The media reported that relatives of the 1900 psychiatric patients who are to be discharged in just over a month marched in Johannesburg to protest against the cancellation of a contract between the Gauteng Health Department and Life Healthcare Esidimeni Hospital.[2] This was precipitated by the promised renovations not been made to the identified facilities‚ which include the old Germiston hospital‚ empty wards at Weskoppies and Sterkfontein‚ the Dan Pienaar creche in Parktown and the old nurses residence at the Transvaal Memorial Institute opposite Constitution Hill. The latter two buildings are derelict. Existing NGOs do not have the capacity to take large numbers either.

 

On the 14 March 2016:

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) together with NGO Section 27 filed urgent legal papers in the High Court in Johannesburg, hoping to stop the Gauteng Health Department from relocating 50 mentally ill patients from the Esidimeni hospital group.

This was precipitated by information gathered by Sadag having proof that the department would be moving the patients to an NGO, which the group claims, is a violation of an earlier agreement with the department. Last year, both parties agreed to pause the relocation of 2,300 patients from the hospital. In its legal papers, Sadag argues that an agreement was reached between all parties that no patient would be removed from the Esidimeni Hospital pending the conclusion of further discussions. But the group argues that 50 patients from Randfontein's Life Esidimeni and Life Esidimeni Rand West have been identified by the department and will be transferred to the Takalani Home on 14 March 2016.Furthermore, it is argued that insufficient consultation has taken place with those directly affected, the residents, their families and representative organizations. This is in violation of the ethos of the CRPD outlined in the Preamble (0) and throughout, that people with disabilities be involved in all decisions affecting their lives. Judgement  denied the interdict sought.

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15 March 2016

The Ubuntu Centre sends an urgent complaint to the South African Huiman Rights Commission informing them of the situation and warning of the dire consequences of the residents. In a meeting with the SAHRC in July 2016, the issue was once again raised by the Ubuntu Centre and there was no response except that it would be looked into. Finally in August, the Ubuntu Centre was contacted by a senior researcher to assure that the case would be attended to. The Ubuntu Centre warned that people were going to die if nothing was done. Finally a case number was allocated on the 24 August 016:  GP/1516/0889/CK/MDP

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Acknowledging the right to live independently in the community as articulated in article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 2006 (CRPD) and the right for treatment “in the least restrictive environment” (MHCA 2002), South Africa is obliged to ensure that “persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community;” (Article 19 (b)) Currently these community supports are not available, especially adequate residential supports, and this risks many “discharged patients” being denied appropriate support and therefore exposed to loss of dignity, extreme poverty, homelessness and vulnerable to gross human rights violations that are protected in articles 10, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, and 28 of CRPD. Chapter 3 of the Mental Health Care Act 2002, in alignment with the SA Constitution 1996, also guarantees the human dignity of all mental health care users will be respected (8.1). The act of cancelling the contracts and closure of Life Esidimeni residential treatment facilities seriously threatens the dignity of all concerned.

 

 

 

Considering the recent Disability Summit resolution of 12 March 2016:

 

Both the national departments of Health and Social Development, and all provincial authorities must protect the rights of patients with severe psycho-social disabilities being imminent released into the community and/or into other facilities without proper planning, adequate living conditions, rehabilitation and care services available in the community where they will stay, and assessment of these patients and the places they are supposed to be moved to.

 

The summary “discharge” and “reinstitutionalization” of Life Esidimeni residents in March was in direct contradiction of the resolution mad

 

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