Gauteng ANC expresses concern over 21 missing Life Esidimeni patients
7 November 2018
The ANC in Gauteng has expressed concern over the remaining 21 Life Esidimeni patients who are yet to be located.
"Whilst we acknowledge that the intervention of the various state agencies and departments, non-governmental organisations and the Department of Health has led to significant progress being made, with over 100 unaccounted for names being resolved, everything possible has to be done to ensure that the families of the missing patients also find closure," the party's provincial executive committee spokesperson Tasneem Motara said in a statement on Wednesday.
This comes after the party received a report detailing the progress on the implementation of the corrective measures being put in place to address the tragic events around Life Esidimeni.
In 2016, 144 psychiatric patients died after the Gauteng Department of Health moved 1 700 mentally ill people from Life Esidimeni homes into ill-equipped NGOs and state facilities.
The ANC, which says it is concerned about the well being of these patients, has committed to working with structures in the province to ensure they are located.
"We call on communities to assist by forwarding any information they might have to law enforcement agencies," Motara added.
The ANC's PEC in Gauteng focused on the state of public health at a recent meeting and found that leadership turnover, policy gaps, inadequate resources and communication had undermined good quality healthcare in the province.
"We are confident that decisive intervention in the identified areas by the Gauteng Provincial Government working with the national Department of Health and stakeholders in the health sector will lead to the public health system being restored back to good health," Motara said.
