The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply disturbed by the news that a psychiatric patient in a medical ward at Ngwelezane Hospital has killed a fellow patient.

The incident took place on the night of Sunday 14 July in the facility’s male medical ward.

While it is protocol to admit acutely psychotic patients for 72 hours' observation in medical wards - to exclude other medical conditions that can give rise to a similar presentation - the safety of other patients and staff must, at all times, be in place.

It is very clear that there was a paucity in terms of safety measures at Ngwelezane Hospital.

This is also not the first time that an incident of this nature has taken place at a KZN Health facility in the province. Two years ago, a patient at the Town Hill psychiatric Hospital in Pietermaritzburg was also killed after being attacked by another patient.

The DA has today written to KZN Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu calling on her to urgently investigate this matter and make her findings public. We have no doubt that she will find staff shortages and gaps in security to be massively contributory to what has happened.

For far too long, serious issues within KZN’s Health Department were left to decay under the shocking leadership of former Health MEC, Sibongiseni Dhlomo – aka ‘Deadly Dhlomo’.

While the new MEC certainly has her hands full on all fronts, the DA insists that she prioritize this latest issue and implement urgent measures in a bid to make sure that it never happens again.

 

Issued by The DA