The family of an elderly man who was stabbed to death, allegedly by a psychiatric patient at Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital, says more needs to be done to prevent attacks after it was revealed that 39 assaults involving mental health patients had occurred at the hospital since January last year.
Edwin Zazayokwe, 86, was one of the 30 patients who were attacked. Zazayokwe died when he was stabbed multiple times in the chest with a sharp object, allegedly by a 17-year-old mentally ill patient in February last year.
The teen also allegedly attacked a 75-year-old patient with the object, injuring him.
The attack happened just a day after the teenager had allegedly slapped both elderly men in the medical ward and nothing was done about it.
According to Gauteng health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi, 30 attacks involved mental health patients who assaulted other psychiatric patients, while nine employees were attacked.
Mokgethi revealed this in a written response to questions posed by DA Gauteng spokesperson on health Jack Bloom.
Zazayokwe’s grandson, Thabang Thobejane, yesterday told Sowetan that the Department of Health and his family had reached a settlement after his grandfather’s death. “Things have been hard and it’s heartbreaking when you find that my grandfather was a statistic,” said Thobejane.
He said investigations into the incident were concluded six months after the attack. “Though I cannot talk about the settlement in detail because we signed a non-disclosure [agreement], nothing can replace a life,” he said.
The hospital has come under fire in recent years for its inability to cater for psychiatric patients. In January alone, the hospital saw 224 mental healthcare users. Last week, the department announced that it had converted a section of the hospital into a 14-bed psychiatry ward.
Between January 2020 and August 2021, the hospital admitted a total of 2,319 mental healthcare patients.
Kwara Kekana, the department’s spokesperson, said: “The Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital does not have a dedicated psychiatry ward due to its classification as a level 1 facility. The current hospital district mental healthcare services package allows for 72-hour observation, which, depending on the level of care needed, patients are referred to either regional or tertiary hospitals.”
The hospital currently has space for 26 patients — 14 males and 12 females. “We wish to emphasise that mental health patients are only placed in other wards when they need treatment for another condition, in addition to mental healthcare,” she said.
Kekena said security had also been beefed up at the hospital. “Security is always placed in sections with mental healthcare patients. The department is confident that in addition to security measures in place, this intervention will help relieve pressure in other wards.”
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