Northdale Hospital has been forced to step in and return patients to their families after a growing number, many medically fit for discharge, were abandoned in wards, occupying scarce beds and placing further strain on the already burdened public health system.

At the centre of the issue are patients who should be recuperating at home, but remain in wards long after discharge, many recovering from substance-induced psychosis or other social conditions linked to poverty and malnutrition, reports The Witness.

In one ward, a patient who identified himself only as Thabo said he thinks he has been at the hospital for over a month, despite being medically cleared.

“I don’t even know how long I’ve been here anymore. I was admitted after having drug-induced seizures, but now I am fine. I just want to go home.”

But home is no longer an option.

He said his aunt has accused him of stealing from the family and selling belongings to fund drug use, something he denies.

“She doesn’t want me back. But I have changed,” he stated.

His situation mirrors dozens of other patients caught in a kind of limbo, well enough to leave, but effectively abandoned.

For some families, however, the decision to leave relatives at the hospital is driven by fear rather than neglect.

An elderly mother told The Witness that her 43-year-old son, who was among 13 patients discharged last Thursday, becomes violent when he returns home.

“We are scared of him. We have our own health conditions. When he’s high, he is aggressive.”

Although he had recently been discharged, the family said they did not know where he was.

Despite the risks, they have not involved police or social services, insisting the hospital feels like the safest place for him.

Hospital staff said such cases point to a deeper, more complex breakdown of support systems.

A senior nurse who cannot be named said the problem worsens during holidays and festive periods, when some families deliberately leave relatives behind.

“Others are brought here under the guise that they are sick, while relatives go off to enjoy holidays or celebrations,” she said.

What should be a place of healing has become a holding ground for the abandoned — patients medically cleared for discharge, yet left stranded because no one is willing to take them home.

She added that families often ignore repeated calls to collect relatives, only resurfacing when it suits them — if at all.

The nurse confirmed that while 13 patients were successfully discharged last week, two others from Pelham and Hilton were returned to the hospital after being rejected by their families.

Hospital board member Hlalani Zondi said the situation is derailing the institution’s core function.

“This stretches already limited resources that should be used for real patients,” he said.

“What’s worse is that some families don’t even visit their members.”

He revealed that about 40 beds are currently occupied by psychiatric patients who should be housed in specialised facilities, placing additional strain on an already overburdened system.

The ripple effects are severe, with casualty staff forced to juggle emergencies while beds remain occupied by patients who should have long since left.

A hospital source described a recurring pattern of abandonment that intensifies during peak holiday periods.

“In some cases, families bring in relatives suffering from drug-induced psychosis. Once they recover, the family cuts ties.”

“We flag cases when patients stay more than four weeks after discharge, but even then, nothing changes.”

Former hospital board chairperson Rachel Subjee said the crisis has been years in the making. “People treat the hospital like a daycare centre. Then they complain about poor service while they are the ones overburdening the facility,” she said.

KZN Department of Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said the practice is crippling the healthcare system and depriving genuinely ill patients of care.

“Not a single person deserves to be abandoned at a health facility. This behaviour is severely impacting bed availability and service delivery. We condemn it in the strongest terms,” he said.

Maphisa stressed that many of the affected patients are not chronically mentally ill, but have stabilised after treatment for substance-related or social conditions and are capable of returning to normal life.

However, without family support, they remain stuck occupying beds needed for critical cases.

As Northdale Hospital moves to repatriate these patients, officials have issued a direct appeal to families.

“When doctors have done their part, families must do theirs,” said Maphisa.

“We call on the conscience of every person with a relative in hospital to come forward, visit them, offer them love, and be there for them at discharge. Let us avoid treating hospitals as long-term lodges.”

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