A report by South African Society of Psychiatry on conditions at the Tower Hospital in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape has found instances of human rights abuses.
The Society, along with representatives from the SA Federation of Mental Health and the NGO Section 27, recently visited the hospital following the resignation of sessional psychiatrist, Dr. Kiran Sukeri who had lodged complaints with SASOP.
Now, a report by SASOP says that some of the main findings post the visit, were that there were instances of abuse of patients rights and failure to execute duty of care within the framework of the country's Constitution.
Sasop president, Professor Bernard Janse Van Rensburg, said in a statement on Thursday that "although hospital management identified difficulties in the smooth running of the institution no effective strategies were ever employed to address or solve those challenges."
He said on at least two occasions, the Eastern Cape Health Department had to intervene.
"Patient and death records, death notification, as well as the manner and capacity of secluding patients at this facility has been infringing on patients' human rights."
"It was also found that the physical state of the seclusion rooms at the hospital pose a particular risk at the moment and it was recommended that the use of these spaces to seclude patients should be stopped immediately. There was also the inadequate implementation of existing policies and procedures to ensure the safe and legal seclusion of mental health care users," said Professor Janse Van Rensburg.
"The seclusion rooms are positioned in the courtyard of the hospital, far away from the nurses' station or another point of observation by staff, with no amenities available, and seem to have already been precipitating incidents of harm to and human rights abuses of patients."
Prof Janse van Rensburg said that although hospital personnel of all categories, including senior management, largely seems to have goodwill towards patients and patient-care, there seems to be a limited understanding (especially at senior management level), of how long-standing systemic failures and inadequacy of actions taken to address these failures, have exacerbated the situation and affected patient rights.
"Such systemic failures seem to have aligned with individual factors within the senior management team of the hospital (communication challenges, flouting of standing protocol and procedure with minimal consequences, poor conflict resolution, lack of proactive management etc.) to create a perfect storm. This seems to have resulted in the crisis that has manifested in Tower Hospital currently."
Prof Janse van Rensburg says that Tower Hospital, a 400-bed long term psychiatric hospital in the central part of Eastern Cape, has been utilised for many years as a non-voluntary, in-patient facility for patients with serious mental conditions requiring long-term care from across the province.
"However to date, there has been no development in the province that could have facilitated the implementation of the appropriate deinstitutionalization of patients to be treated in a least restrictive community-based environment close to their homes. To make matters worse the staff shortages of only two medical offices on the floor at Tower Hospital is further infringing on the physical health of patients."
Prof Janse van Rensburg said accurate record-keeping and proper documentation is a considerable challenge at Tower Hospital.
Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, said that following the allegations by Dr. Sukeri, a delegation led by Health MEC, Dr. Phumza Dyanti had visited the hospital.
He said that subsequent to the visit the Department of Health launched an independent investigation into the allegations by Dr. Sukeri.
"We are going to allow that team to conclude its investigation before we can make further comment on the allegations. But, the aim of the investigation is to see if the allegations made can be substantiated," he said.
"I must, however, mention that during our visit to the institution, some of the issues that were alleged by the psychiatrist and also subsequently published in some of the newspapers could not be substantiated," he added.
