Only 42 inquests finalised of 144 Life Esidimeni deaths

A total of 144 Life Esidimeni patient deaths are being investigated‚ with the National Prosecuting Authority in the process of formulating charges.

So far‚ the police have opened 46 inquest cases‚ 42 of which have been finalised.

This was disclosed by Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane in a written reply to questions in the Gauteng Legislature by DA MPL Jack Bloom.

The delay in finalising four of the cases was due to outstanding postmortem reports and missing hospital records.

“I am disappointed that some postmortem reports are still not completed and that missing hospital records are delaying the police investigation,” Bloom said.

“How can it be that postmortems are not complete more than 18 months after the deaths?

“I am also concerned that there are no inquests for 98 of the 144 recorded deaths.

“It is vital that all available evidence is speedily collected so that charges are laid against those implicated in the deaths‚ as well as other charges, including contraventions of the Mental Health Act and complicity in issuing fraudulent licences to NGOs.”

The Gauteng Department of Health, meanwhile, said it had issued 133 licences for the 2018-19 financial year to mental health NGOs which complied with the requirements of safe patient care and sound financial management.

It said that based on the lessons learnt from the Life Esidimeni tragedy‚ it had taken extraordinary measures to increase the number of audits of NGOs in the interest of quality healthcare‚ in line with regulations which dictate that NGOs be audited at least once a year.

The department said announced and unannounced visits had been carried out at the NGOs to monitor the quality of care provided.

“I am quite happy that the department has undertaken this meticulous exercise with vigour to ensure that the licensing process is flawless,” acting department head Professor Mkhululi Lukhele said.