Mentally ill people, particularly if homeless or with no close relatives to help them, face a miserable life with little or no medical care.
In a one-on-one with the Daily Dispatch, social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi admitted as much, saying social development only dealt with social issues.
“We don’t deal with health issues, but we work closely with health and police. When we get a case, social workers go there and assess to see if it’s a social development issue.
“If it’s not, we investigate who is a leading department in the matter and social workers write a letter to that department, making them aware that there is this problem,” she said. Despite this, Sihlwayi came to the rescue of a supposedly mentally ill woman living in Fumazile Street in Duncan Village, who was kept in a locked house alone, often for days on end.
When hungry, the woman often resorted to eating her own waste. The 44-year-old woman was taken to hospital for observation and treatment. This rescue was staged together with the ward councillor, police and social workers.
“If there is a need for a joint venture, programme and a plan, then social development is there,” she said.
Another case involved a homeless man living in a park in St James Street Park in Southernwood.
Health departments around the country said while beds were reserved in several hospitals in each province, care was only provided to those who went in or were taken to hospitals to receive treatment.
In a report in the Daily Dispatch in September last year, then health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane reserved 50 beds in the psychiatric ward, with relatives urged to bring their loved ones in for assessment.
Only those displaying signs of violence against themselves or others are admitted, he said, with other patients assessed, given treatment and sent home.
Health departments in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town said they had no outreach programmes to assist those unable to visit health facilities for care.
Gauteng health spokesman Vuyo Sabani said the province had three psychiatric facilities with 1654 beds between them, with four in KZN and eight state hospitals providing psychiatric care. The City of Cape Town has four psychiatric hospitals, with 1720 beds.
Mental health co-ordinator from East London-based NGO, Rehab, Busisiwe Hlophe, said homeless mentally ill people were most likely to suffer from schizophrenia – a brain disorder that affects the way a person thinks and behaves.
Hlophe said while they too only assisted people on a voluntary basis, they acted on instructions from relatives to take ill people to hospitals when needed. “The lines are long, meaning we spend hours just waiting to see the doctor.
“That would be fine for anyone else, but imagine how awful it is for someone suffering from a mental condition,” she said.
“There’s not much done for mentally ill people in the country and I don’t want to blame the hospitals but I think it’s a lack of resources which has created this problem.”
South African Depression and Anxiety Group operations director Cassey Chambers, said: “We know from international studies that, due to stigma, lack of treatment and care, no access to treatment and little or no family support, are big contributors to the high rate of homeless people living with a mental illness.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Little help for the mentally ill
In a one-on-one with the Daily Dispatch, social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi admitted as much, saying social development only dealt with social issues.
“We don’t deal with health issues, but we work closely with health and police. When we get a case, social workers go there and assess to see if it’s a social development issue.
“If it’s not, we investigate who is a leading department in the matter and social workers write a letter to that department, making them aware that there is this problem,” she said. Despite this, Sihlwayi came to the rescue of a supposedly mentally ill woman living in Fumazile Street in Duncan Village, who was kept in a locked house alone, often for days on end.
When hungry, the woman often resorted to eating her own waste. The 44-year-old woman was taken to hospital for observation and treatment. This rescue was staged together with the ward councillor, police and social workers.
“If there is a need for a joint venture, programme and a plan, then social development is there,” she said.
Another case involved a homeless man living in a park in St James Street Park in Southernwood.
Health departments around the country said while beds were reserved in several hospitals in each province, care was only provided to those who went in or were taken to hospitals to receive treatment.
In a report in the Daily Dispatch in September last year, then health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane reserved 50 beds in the psychiatric ward, with relatives urged to bring their loved ones in for assessment.
Only those displaying signs of violence against themselves or others are admitted, he said, with other patients assessed, given treatment and sent home.
Health departments in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town said they had no outreach programmes to assist those unable to visit health facilities for care.
Gauteng health spokesman Vuyo Sabani said the province had three psychiatric facilities with 1654 beds between them, with four in KZN and eight state hospitals providing psychiatric care. The City of Cape Town has four psychiatric hospitals, with 1720 beds.
Mental health co-ordinator from East London-based NGO, Rehab, Busisiwe Hlophe, said homeless mentally ill people were most likely to suffer from schizophrenia – a brain disorder that affects the way a person thinks and behaves.
Hlophe said while they too only assisted people on a voluntary basis, they acted on instructions from relatives to take ill people to hospitals when needed. “The lines are long, meaning we spend hours just waiting to see the doctor.
“That would be fine for anyone else, but imagine how awful it is for someone suffering from a mental condition,” she said.
“There’s not much done for mentally ill people in the country and I don’t want to blame the hospitals but I think it’s a lack of resources which has created this problem.”
South African Depression and Anxiety Group operations director Cassey Chambers, said: “We know from international studies that, due to stigma, lack of treatment and care, no access to treatment and little or no family support, are big contributors to the high rate of homeless people living with a mental illness.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos