Eleven patients of Witrand Hospital will be relocated from their residential home in Kamp Street back to Witrand Hospital at the end of June. Various factors that have come into play in the current landscape have given rise to the development.

In a media statement to the Herald, Witrand Hospital highlighted some of these considerations. They included 24-hour nursing care, the financial inability to survive outside the hospital and a lack of registered residential facilities in North West. Other issues were a few patients who exhibited high-risk behavioural problems and no families to support the patients outside of the hospital.

“After mental health legislation was passed in 2001, the hospital management introduced a de- institutionalisation programme (DIP). Eleven high-functioning patients from the hospital were reintegrated into the community. The legislation dictated that mental healthcare users who were on treatment and functioning, should be within their communities,” said the acting CEO of Witrand, Moipone Elizabeth Mpolokeng.

As part of the programme, Witrand Hospital identified high- functioning patients to collectively rent a house, under the supervision of the hospital.

Since the programme was implemented, there have been success stories. Some of the tenants got more involved in the community and looked for their own apartments. Some even married each other. Unfortunately, as the years went by and for various reasons, Witrand had to stop the project to protect the rights of mental healthcare users who were once beneficiaries of the programme.

Mpolokeng says the general hygiene and upkeep of the house, the threat of criminal activity en- dangering the residents, income challenges without social grants and the poor health of some patients were other key factors in the move.

“The relocation process started as early as January 2020 and the patients were officially given notice in the second week of May. Bearing in mind that their diagnoses had already compromised their mental health status, it was neither fair nor to their benefit to have a vital issue like this hanging over them for a prolonged period. The plan was to give them notice and start working on the process. A mental health therapeutic sub-team has been mandated to help the patients with the emotional and psychological stressors in the process. Good progress is being reported,” said Mpolokeng.

The patients’ families have been notified and support the process.

According to the hospital, they will do their utmost to ensure that some of the patients’ belongings go back to Witrand with them, depending on the space constraints.

“Appropriate dormitories in Ward 4 (male) and 12 (female) respect- ively have been identified and they will use the facilities like all the other patients in the hospital. The task team is busy assessing their belongings and a joint decision with the residents, will be adopted, looking at the space available in the hospital,” stated Mpolokeng.

It has been an emotional, stressful experience for the residents in Kamp Street. They currently feel they will miss out on the feeling of community and togetherness they have achieved during the DIP programme. For instance, they will have to leave their pets behind – something they are quite sad about. According to the regulations, they may not take their pets back to the hospital.

“There are ongoing arrangements to find a suitable home or a reliable person to adopt the pets. If not, they will be handed over to the SPCA or Paws.

“The residents will be allowed to see their pets’ new homes and interact with the new owners. Residents are involved in every step taken regarding the pets, however,” she said.

Mpolokeng notes that the hospital’s patient-related services are regulated by the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002, which prescribes, without compromise, that patients should be allowed to interact with one another and families as far as possible. “The hospital has under-taken to allow the patients to be transported to their familiar church (NG Suiderkruis), which was next to the house. They will also be allowed to attend Christmas parties with the Service Centre for the Aged and so forth,” she said.