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The construction of the R478 million new Bophelong Psychiatric Hospital reaffirms the commitment of the ANC government to restore the dignity of people with mental illness and provide a safe environment for them to receive quality mental health care, North West Premier Thandi Modise has asserted.

In her keynote address delivered on Tuesday afternoon at the site handover to mark the beginning of construction of the 384 bed hospital, Premier Modise said that the days when people with mental illness were tired to trees are over.

“Like all other citizens, people with mental illness should receive professional quality health care closer to their communities and not be dumped far away from their homes in some institutions,” stressed Modise.

MEC for Health Dr Magome Masike said that his department had initially planned to construct a 648 beds hospital, but following extensive consultation with mental health experts and recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it was resolved  to downsize psychiatric hospital in favour of community based psychiatric health care facilities.

“This will increase access to mental health care services and also boost chances of psychiatric patients to respond to treatment as they will be treated and cared next to their homes,” said MEC Masike adding that other community based psychiatric health care facilities are earmarked for Bojanala Platinum, Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda Districts in due course.

Each of the community based facilities will make a provision for residential needs, day care centre, a workshop for occupational activities and industrial therapy. The facilities will function independently in terms of staff structures and will be located near health facilities to promote easy outreach of health professionals.

Modise said that construction of the hospital will create jobs for locals and also benefit local contractors who will be appointed as sub-contractors by Group Five / ENM Joint venture appointed to execute the 24 months Project contract.

She said that service delivery should be about meaningfully changing the quality of the lives of the people in the province and not about politicians deriving benefit from such projects. She emphasised that everything the provincial government does should be about the citizens.

Member of the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital Board Lawrence Lenyora commended the provincial government for its effort to provide facilities for people with mental illness. Lenyora is also the Provincial Administrator of Disabled People South Africa-North West.