Violent deaths on the rise in Gauteng

JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – “Newly released statistics from Gauteng’s 10 state mortuaries show a disturbing increase in violent deaths,” says Jack Bloom, DA MPL and Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health.

“These figures were revealed by Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

“Violent deaths from gunshots, stab wounds and assaults rose from 3 324 in 2012/13 to 3 618 in 2013/14, and 3 846 in 2014/15. These deaths accounted for 32 percent of the unnatural deaths last year.

“Deaths due to surgical procedures have also increased, from 481 in 2012 to 803 in 2014. The vast majority of these were because of anesthetics.

“Traffic accidents accounted for 26 percent of the deaths last year, but the numbers have actually decreased from 3 242 in 2013 to 3 088 in 2014.

“The third highest cause of death is hanging, with 846 deaths last year, accounting for 7 percent of all deaths,” Bloom added.

Other causes of death from 2012 to 2014 include:

n Burns – 2 090;

n Stillborn – 1 807;

n Poisoning – 1462;

n Drowning – 748;

n Train accidents – 637;

n Electric shock – 360;

n Strangulation – 218;

n Suffocation – 115 and

n Lightning – 50.

The overall number of bodies stored in the 10 Gauteng state mortuaries rose from 13 602 in 2012 to 14 866 in 2014.

“These figures are of concern because they show that unnatural deaths are increasing in Gauteng, mostly because of violence.

“Dead bodies don’t lie. These shock figures should be a wake-up call to curb violence and the causes of violence in Gauteng,” Bloom said.