Gauteng health issues licences to mental health NGOs
The department has begun the planning process to workshop NGOs to understand and implement the new regulations.
More than 100 mental health institutions have been issued compliance certificates following the Life Esidemeni tragedy.
The Gauteng health department said the 133 NGOs had passed audits for the 2018/19 financial year for “safe patient care and have sound financial management”.
The department said it had learned lessons from the Life Esidimeni tragedy which claimed the lives of more than 140 mental patients.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Life Esidimeni disciplinary hearings halted
The patients had been transferred from Life Esidimeni after the department terminated its contract with the institution, to various establishments, including in Pretoria, which were unlicensed.
https://twitter.com/Masengwa/status/979290101934186496
“The department has taken extraordinary measures to increase the number of audits, in the interest of good quality health care. This is in line with the regulations of mental health care act 17 of 2002, which dictates that NGOs be audited at least once per annum,” the department said.
So it's the media's fault, not the Dept for ignoring the families' pleas, the advice of experts, for lying in court, giving licenses to NGOs not meeting requirements, the haphazardous way people were moved, etc. Ja neh! #LifeEsidimeni https://t.co/N4z6dGHIiH
— Koketso Moeti (@Kmoeti) November 27, 2017
The department said in compliance with the act, it had made announced and unannounced visits to NGOs to monitor the quality of care offered patients.
Head of department Professor Mkhululi Lukhele said: “I am quite happy that the department has undertaken this meticulous exercise with vigour to ensure that the licensing process is flawless. The safety and care of mental health users remain key to us.”
Gauteng hasn't learnt from the #LifeEsidimeni tragedy: 60 mental health NGOs inexplicably not licensed @politicsweb https://t.co/REwyrbno9b
— Suntosh Pillay (@suntoshpillay) April 8, 2018
The department has begun the planning process to workshop NGOs to understand and implement the new regulations.
The new regulations on the licensing of NGOs were issued by health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi in March this year.
“The department would also like to take this opportunity to dispel the allegations of delays in the payment of subsidies. There is no truth in this, and there are no recorded incidents or complaints about the delay or non-payment of subsidies to NGOs.”
The DA‘s health spokesperson Jack Bloom earlier tweeted that the department was incompetent by delaying the licensing of the NGOs.
ALSO READ: Health department fails to meet deadline for transferring Esidimeni patients
“This was an inexcusable delay in issuing licences should be rectified as soon as possible, along with strict monitoring to ensure that mental health patients are properly looked after in these NGOs.”
He said the department was exposing itself to severe legal liability by not issuing licenses to the NGOs and renewing their contracts.
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