Lawyers representing some of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Life Esidimeni scandal have argued there was a staggering number of patients who arrived at their facilities without proper handover documents.
The discharge summaries in question were meant to reflect information pertaining to their medical history.
But former managing director at Life Esidimeni Morgan Mkhatshwa denied claims about the documents and insisted the discharge summaries were given to the patients.
The High Court in Pretoria is investigating who should be held criminally liable for the deaths of 144 patients after they were moved from Life Esidimeni Group health facilities in 2016
Patients who were transferred later died.
Their deaths were attributed to negligence, lack of food, dehydration and ill-equipped facilities.
Mkhatshwa’s legal representative advocate Harry van Bergen read that there was reference by a number of the cross examiners who alleged failures from a part of Life Esidimeni to have provided patients with “what was referred to as records and also a failure to have provide medication which you disputed, do you recall that?”
Mkhatshwa: “Yes I do.”
Van Bergen: “Would it be correct that Life Esidimeni operations were governed inter alia by the Mental Health Care Act number 17 of 2002?”
Mkhatshwa: “That is true, yes.”
Van Bergen: “Are you aware of any provision in the Mental Health Care Act that a patient's entire file must be provided to the receiving facility or a receiving person on discharge or transfer of the patient?”
Mkhatshwa: “Not to my knowledge.”
Mkhatshwa also said he was not happy about how the process to transfer the patients was being conducted.
“We also did not have full information on the process as such, and also it would have helped us and the Department of Health in managing the process much more effectively.
“It also indicates that the fact why Life Esidimeni was totally against the time period that was offered and needed a more extended time to make the process as practical as possible and make sure we all had necessary data and information about the NGOs that we were going to discharge these mental health care users to,” said Mkhatshwa.
Earlier this week, Mkhatshwa said Life Esidimeni could not be held liable for what happened to the patients after they were moved to other facilities.
The Gauteng Department of Health had terminated its contract with Life Esidimeni in 2016 in an attempt to save costs and restructure mental health services.
Political Bureau