After decades of caring for the elderly in the community, the Brakpan Red Cross Eventide Old Age Home has officially closed its doors.

Families of residents were notified just before the Easter weekend that the facility would cease operations permanently.

The closure left many families scrambling to secure appropriate care for their elderly loved ones.
One Brakpan resident (40), who requested to remain anonymous, shared the difficulties his family faced during the closure.

His 75-year-old mother, who requires frail care, had been a resident of the home since 2020.

He alleges that the home was not properly managed, and that of the 43 residents staying at the facility, only 13 were contributing financially.

The resident told the Brakpan Herald he received a call on the afternoon of April 1 requesting his attendance at the home the following morning.

“I was told to be there by 08:00 to talk about the state of the finances,” he said.

The resident explained that there were several representatives from the Department of Social Development and the health department, and there were doctors conducting health screenings.

“We met in the hall at about 10:30. They informed us the old people must go, with immediate effect. This was Thursday, the day before the Easter weekend, and we had 24 hours to evacuate the building,” he said.

“Everyone was frantic. Eventually they helped us find places of accommodation.”

According to him, residents without family members were moved to the Tembisa Hospital, while those whose families could afford it were relocated to other facilities.

His mom was placed in a local frail care centre.

“My mom is there now and is being nicely looked after,” he said.

The resident raised concerns about the management of the Eventide Old Age Home and financial records.

“We found out people were placed in the home without any contributions, just to meet a quota required for inspection to receive government funding,” he alleged.

“My mom also required adult nappies, and it went from one packet a week to four packets, which I questioned. But now it’s obvious they were using them for other residents with so few people paying and no subsidy from the government.”

He also questioned discrepancies in the documentation of payments.

“The statement they showed me with how much I contribute wasn’t even right. My family paid a considerable portion each month, and my mom’s SASSA covered the rest,” he said.

“The document they showed me stated we paid only R1 800 per month, and the SASSA was just claimed.”

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He further alleged that staff hadn’t been paid, resulting in many not going to work and leaving the elderly residents vulnerable and alone.

“When the officials arrived on Thursday morning, there wasn’t even a person to open the gate for them, and they had to phone someone to open it because there wasn’t anyone on duty,” he claimed.

“My mom always said that there weren’t people to look after them.”

The resident also claims he discovered irregularities with his mother’s finances.

“Someone withdrew my mom’s SASSA out of her bank account. It was paid in at midnight on Wednesday, and someone must have withdrawn it in cash,” he said.

“When I had to pay for her new accommodation, there was very little left in her account.”

The son of another resident of the home shared a similar experience of stress.

“My mom was a resident there, and we received notification on Thursday afternoon (April 2) requesting me to sign a consent-to-transfer form for my mom,” said the man.

“My mom was transferred to Frank Mynhardt. Hopefully we will find out more details, as no reasons were given.

“I have attempted to contact the home and the Red Cross area management, but all my calls are going unanswered.

“Apparently the home withdrew everyone’s SASSA money before it closed. And there is also the issue of fees that were paid at the end of March, for April.

“We all now have to fork out money for the re-housing of our loved ones. Not to mention the fact that the alternative homes cost more than Eventide.

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“This is after we were informed, in writing, that the costs would be the same. I hope we get answers soon.”

A staff member who spoke to the Herald on condition of anonymity, due to fear of victimisation, described the situation as having left her heart in pieces.

The worker, who has a passion for caring for the elderly, stated that while she knew there were
financial problems, she never imagined the home would close.

“We have been battling for the past few months to receive salaries. Sometimes we would be paid, then there would be nothing, and then we would only get a portion, but we had to keep working.

“We haven’t received a full salary for almost two months. We’ve received nothing. We were simply told there is no money,” she said.

She alleged that management ignored staff concerns about unpaid salaries. She explained that as a result, staff escalated the matter directly to head office, which was reportedly unaware that employees were not being paid.

Despite going without a salary, the worker emphasised that her top priority remained the elderly, and she went above and beyond to ensure residents received meals, medication and all other essential care.

She added that on several occasions, she paid out of her own pocket to ensure staff could work. The worker also believes staff were treated unfairly regarding the closure.

“We were not told beforehand that this was going to happen. We were told the home was going to be saved despite the problems,” she said.

“There were no meetings or paperwork. We knew there was a problem with some families not paying, but we didn’t know it would come to this.

“Our biggest problem was that some families did not contribute.”

She further claimed that more could have been done by management, alleging that families in arrears did not receive statements or reminders, and that non-payments were not followed up.

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She confirmed that the closure was communicated to families at short notice.

“Many couldn’t make it on the day to make alternative arrangements, and they were simply told the home is closing because there is no money,” she said.

The worker expressed that it was also heartbreaking for staff to now be without jobs, as many are providers for their own families.

“I never thought Eventide would close. I feel like this could have been prevented.”

Comment is awaited from the Department of Social Development and the South African Red Cross Society.

Online views
Reacting to the news of the home’s closure, readers took to the Herald’s Facebook page to share their thoughts:

• Eugene Van Straten
  Carol Campbell was the best there was. Hosted a few golf days with them and it went very well. Was a heart of old people for a long time.
• Alette O’Neill
  Nog ‘n gebou wat ten gronde gaan. Een van die dae trek al die druggies daar in. Gratis blyplek baie sad.
• Irma Fritz Goosen
  Die gebou gaan seker nou gestrip word en af gebrand word.
• Elise Van Straaten Venter
  Tweedypark is seker volgende. Lyk of die voordeure al toe groei, die tuin is in so ‘n toestand.
• Denice Coetzee
  My ma was in hierdie ouetehuis. In 2023 het sy daar geval en haar heup gebreek. Wat gevolg het, was iets wat geen familie ooit wil deurmaak nie. Sy het sepsis ontwikkel en ons het haar verloor.

Vir my en my familie is hierdie nie net die “einde van ’n era” nie, dis ’n herinnering aan pyn, vrae en verlies wat ons vir altyd saam dra. Ek wonder steeds hoekom dinge gebeur het soos dit het en hoekom hierdie plek nou sy deure moes sluit.

Maar ek kies ook om my ma te onthou vir wie sy was: liefdevol, sterk en kosbaar. Rus sag, Ma. Jy word elke dag gemis.

• Samantha Reed:
  The building will be hijacked.
• Amanda Hewitt
  Told they are closing down on Thursday, no warning. And then they had the audacity to withdraw the SASSA pensions. Money was not paid to new old age homes, money was just drawn from SASSA accounts.
• Lorraine Geldenhuys:
  What about the workers there?
• Margeret Rita Pappas:
  So sad to hear this. Was an institution in Brakpan. Been in existence for over 80 years that I know of. Can recall an old Portuguese lady, with no English, being left on the entrance stairs. The beautiful gardens were so well tended.
• Carol Campbell
  So saddened by this news and seeing this picture of the state of the property is devastating.

I would however, like to take the opportunity of thanking the staff, the patients and their families, for the support and kindness received during my years at Brakpan Red Cross.

Eventide Home was such a joy to come to everyday and I have such wonderful memories of my time there from 1984 until I retired in 2012.

Eventide was the launching pad for all the Red Cross activities for Brakpan, Boksburg, Springs and the surrounding areas.

Our nursing staff ran a very successful home-based care training course, mainly for our wonderful volunteers from Tsakani, which gave Eventide the extra hands needed to care for our residents.

The feeding scheme was another very successful activity run by Jeanette Laubscher and some of our housekeeping staff and volunteers, and I know they made a difference in many peoples lives.
We also had a lot of support from our regional Red Cross staff, many of whom were originally our volunteers.

I would also like to thank our Benoni and Germiston Red Cross managers, Margaret Pappas (now retired) and Barbara Jensen for their support.

It would be very remiss of me not to mention the business community and organisations who supported us so well with ongoing donations and fundraising whenever we were in need.

The Brakpan Herald was a major support to us over the years and I would like to thank Dot Flynn and Thelma Koorts for their kindness always. With much appreciation and a sad heart.