Sowetan

‘None of our patients died from poor care‚ 

neglect’ - Life Esidimeni responds to reports of 462 

deaths

By Katharine Child | Feb 08, 2017

Life Healthcare says the 462 patient deaths at its Life Esidimeni healthcare facilities over four years were natural and not caused by neglect or malnutrition.

Weekend media reports revealed this toll for the period from October 2011 to June 2016.

 Following the termination of the public-private partnership with the Gauteng Department of Health‚ at least 94 severely mentally ill patients died in NGOs from hunger‚ thirst‚ pneumonia and untreated diseases.

Nilesh Patel‚ executive Life Healthcare Services Operations‚ told Times Media that the deaths at the NGOs and at the Life Esidimeni homes were not the same.

 “Absolutely‚ it [462] is a big number and any death is not a positive outcome at all. It is devastating to those affected and involved. We can 100% confirm that none of our patients died from poor care‚ from neglect‚ from dehydration‚ from malnutrition and for not receiving medication.

 “We can attest to the situation and circumstances around all of the deaths. Each of deaths were recorded. Our duty of care has been fulfilled in every case.”

 All data on the deaths was submitted to the ombudsman‚ who found there were three to four deaths per 100 patients at Life Esidimeni facilities over the years versus seven deaths per 100 patients who died at NGOs last year.

 Patel said the Life Healthcare group did raise concerns multiple times about the project to remove almost 1400 patients from its facilities and place them with relatives or at NGOs.

When health MEC Qedani Mahlangu announced the termination of the private-public contract with Life Esidimeni‚ it offered to sell its Life Esidimeni premises to the Gauteng Department of Health.

 It even provided options for the department to buy the facilities over time if the department didn’t have finances upfront.

 The idea of a sale had been welcomed by head of department Barney Selebano‚ but he was later sidelined from the project‚ according to Health Ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba’s report.

 The department never replied to this offer — “we didn’t get a response‚” said Patel.

 Life Esidimeni psychiatric staff also offered to inspect the NGOs to check they were of a good quality‚ as the ombudsman’s report recorded‚ but this offer was never taken up. One psychiatrist working for an Esidimeni home resigned out of conscience over the project.

 Patel said it had offered‚ on more than one occasion‚ to provide empty facilities that are not in use to the department but has not heard from them. It wrote to the department after the release of Makgoba’s report last week about working with it at one if its facilities. It has not received a response.

 “The staff had been traumatised by the move and the loss of their patients‚” he said.

 Some staff had worked at Life Esidiemeni facilities for 30 years. Mahlangu had promised to hire some of the Life Esidimeni staff and had done so. But she did not hire the most vulnerable and lowly paid — the cleaners and caterers‚ said Patel.

Daily Sun

Horny Widow bust for raping boy (14)!

   

By  Willem PhungulaTuesday, November 24, 2015 07:20

rape  ~ 

A 53-YEAR-OLD widow has been arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old boy.

The woman, from Osizweni in Newcastle, allegedly gave the boy R10 to keep quiet after she locked him up and had sex with him for days.

A member of the boy’s family said the woman, whose husband died a few months ago, asked the boy to help her paint her house last Thursday.

She said the family trusted the woman.

But when the boy went home on Saturday, he couldn’t walk properly and had blood on his trousers.

She said at first the boy said that nothing had happened.

But when she threatened him with a hiding the boy said the woman had showed him sex DVDs and forced him to sleep with her.

“He was traumatised. We reported the matter to the police and the woman was arrested the same day.”

She said that the boy was taken to the doctor as his 4-5 was injured and bleeding.

A resident told Daily Sun that the allegations and the widow’s arrest had shocked the neighbourhood.

Major Thulani Zwane said the woman will appear in Madadeni Magistrates Court soon in connection with a rape charge.

Daily Sun

NATIONAL

10 months ago

Horny sangoma pokes our men!

   

By  Everson LuhangaMonday, April 11, 2016 12:30

Sangoma accused of being an evil gossip. ~ 

THEY CALL her a fake sangoma and they want her to leave town. 

The women claim she promised to solve their problems, but only ruined them instead. 

THAT HORNY PROPHET POKES OUR MEN AND WRECKS OUR MARRIAGES, THEY SAID. 

Women went to see the sangoma who was working in Orlando West, Soweto. 

She had all the right equipment and promised them healing and comfort for their problems.

But on Friday, the women came forward. They didn’t care if the woman was trying to be a sangoma or a prophet, she was simply a fake, they said.

They said she was an evil woman who made them fight with their husbands so she could poke the men.

About seven women are calling for the woman to be run out of town. They want her to go somewhere else and never come to their kasi again.

Winnie Malaza (56), Ntebaleng Morabe (52), Anna Mahlangu (45) and Violet Sikele (60) were among those who said the woman made them fight

with their spouses. Others said they had lost their partners.

Ntebaleng said her gogo brought the woman to her, asking for a place to stay.

“I felt sorry for her because she had a small child with her. I let her stay in an outside room.

But then the woman started flirting with her partner.

“She told my partner and my neighbours I was having sex in a toilet at my sister’s birthday party on Easter Monday,” she said.

Ntebaleng said she threw the woman out of her yard.

“She said she had a calling and was going to her mother. But she moved down the road to stay with Ntebaleng’s sister, Violet.

Violet Sikele (60) said the woman came to her because she said she needed help. “I let her stay in the back room. But I was wrong.”

Violet said the prophet told her a monkey was poking her every night and she needed muthi.

“She said my husband would lose interest in sleeping with me and I would lose him,” she said.

Terrified, Violet asked the woman to help.

“But then she got closer and closer to my husband and further away from me.”

Winnie said the woman told her she was being bewitched by her neighbour, Anna Mahlangu.

“Anna and I were fighting because of her lies,” Violet said.

“We realised she was a crook and a liar. We ganged up to chase her out of the community.”

When Daily Sun tried to talk to the woman she ran away.

The angry women chased after her but she raced down the street and no one could catch her.

Nobody has seen her since.

Daily Sun

NATIONAL

4 months ago

HORNY AS HELL!

   

By  Sammy Moretsi Monday, September 19, 2016 04:00

Ellen Goodman standing in her burnt house in Skierlik section in Bekkersdal, west of Joburg. Photo by Sammy Moretsi  ~ 

A MAN lost his temper and allegedly torched his mother’s house!

This was after Ellen Goodman (74) refused to give him R50.

The mother claimed her 42-year-old son was aggressive when he demanded the money on Tuesday.

She told Daily Sun: “I told him this was my last money left over from my pension.

“But he became very angry and burnt my house.

“He threatened to kill me when he comes back from jail.

“I hope the prison keys go missing.”

His neighbours in Skierlik section, Bekkersdal, west of Joburg, claimed the suspect was horny and wanted to go and buy a round of sex from a magosha in Westonaria.

So when his mother refused to give him money, he allegedly set the fully furnished four-roomed house on fire, reducing everything inside to ashes.

One of the neighbours said: “We heard him shouting in a rough voice that he needed money so he could go to a brothel called Tree.

“We appealed to him to sleep off his horniness or drink lots of water, but he didn’t listen to us. We laughed because it seemed funny.”

Neighbour Samson Thobela said they saw a blazing fire coming from the house.

“The man looked angry, with muscles stretched across his face.

“We managed to enter the yard and stop the fire, but sadly the house was burned,” said Samson.

Bekkersdal police spokeswoman Linki Lefakane confirmed the incident and said the man has been arrested.

“We have a pending case of malicious damage to property and police are investigating,” she said.

Lefakane said the suspect’s bail application was refused by the Westonaria Magistrates Court.

He was remanded in custody and his bail application was postponed to Thursday.

St Mary’s Anglican Church priest Rodger Lekoko came to gogo Ellen’s ruined house to pray for her.

Sowetan

Women too sensitive to lead, says Xhosa king

By Lulamile Feni | Feb 08, 2017

Outgoing African Union chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's attempt to woo the support of Xhosa King Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu backfired.

The monarch told her that the country was not ready for a female president.

"South Africa is not yet ready to be led by a woman president. Women are sensitive by nature.

"The country's problems have overwhelmed leaders who are men, how much more [so] for a woman," said the king, whose historic coronation in 2015 was the first of a Xhosa king in 50 years.

Yesterday, Dlamini-Zuma claimed her visit was merely to pay homage to the king but it has been suggested that she was there to seek support ahead of the ANC elective conference to in December.

Dlamini-Zuma has so far received support from the ANC Women's League for her to succeed President Jacob Zuma.

Introducing Dlamini-Zuma to the king, Deputy Minister of Water Affairs Pam Tshwete said: "My king, South Africa has been led by men for far too long and now mama Zuma should take the baton ... In America people disregarded a woman Hillary Clinton and chose a man and now they are led by a maniac man called Donald Trump."

Dlamini-Zuma refused to speak on ANC succession "as the matter is not yet open for discussion".

She said she was a tried and tested cadre and had recorded many successes when she served as minister in different portfolios under all three democratic presidents.

"Women must be part of the leadership. In South Africa more than 40% of women are in parliament and it should go up to more than 50%. Women must be part of leadership everywhere, even in leading countries.

In Africa, we have one woman president in Liberia and we would like to have more women presidents.

"In South Africa it is up to South Africa to decide if they want a woman president or not," said Dlamini-Zuma

When pressed to comment on the issue of a woman president, Dlamini-Zuma replied, "Of course the continent and all of us would welcome that. It could be a progressive idea."

But the king added: "If the idea is accepted that a woman should ascend to the presidency of the country, then it would need to be scrutinised to see if the land is fertile enough so that we, as men, do not put them in the trap to fail due to our own blunders.

"But it is only the ANC who can see if she is right for the position," he said.

The Eastern Cape has become a key battleground for ANC presidential hopefuls trying to garner support ahead of the conference.

Dlamini-Zuma's visit came hot on the heels of another presidential hopeful, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was in Mthatha two weeks ago for an ANC rally.

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Daily Sun

SUN FAMILY

2 hours ago

CHILD SUPPORT GRANT SHOULD START AT PREGNANCY

   

By  Parent24Wednesday, February 08, 2017 13:37

Mzansi has seen a dramatic rise in teen pregnancies since 2011  ~ 

Pregnancy and childbearing reduces women's income-generating potential and introduces a host of new expenses. These include needing to eat well and the cost of transport to access antenatal services.

Poor women find it difficult to meet these additional costs, which is why many countries provide grants to mitigate the impact of poverty during pregnancy.

South Africa’s child support grant has been hailed as one of its most successful national poverty alleviation strategies. It has significantly improved the lives of young children. But the country has yet to consider extending support grants to women who are pregnant. The fact that South Africa does not distribute a pregnancy grant means irreversible but avoidable damage to children and mothers from poor families is not addressed.

Our study looked at pregnancy support grants in 27 countries to see what South Africa could learn about implementing similar programmes.

Based on the experiences of countries at similar levels of development we concluded that introducing pregnancy support grants to women in South Africa would improve health outcomes for babies and mothers. They would help women access interventions that improve health and nutrition during pregnancy. This in turn would reduce stillbirths and infant deaths, and improve the growth of children from the foetal period through the first year.

How other countries work

Several countries that are considered to be less well off than South Africa provide pregnancy support to mothers-to-be. Their programmes show three benefits for these mothers and their children.

Access to healthcare:

Firstly, it has encouraged women to get access to health care facilities during their pregnancies. Poor attendance is still a key cause of maternal and infant deaths globally. In South Africa, about one in 10 women do not attend health services during pregnancy and one in 20 deliver without trained personnel.

Eight of the studies showed an increase in the number of women accessing health services. Grants distributed to pregnant women in Cambodia acted as an incentive for them to visit health care centres. And in Peru, for example, there was a 65% increase in the number of women who accessed care.

Giving birth in health facilities:

Secondly, grants help women deliver their babies in health facilities rather than at home with a traditional birth attendant. In Bangladesh, hospital births rose more than three fold after grants were introduced.

Reducing poverty:

The third effect the grants had was that they reduced poverty and food insecurity by mitigating the intergenerational effects of poverty. The health and development of a generation improved as a result of the grant. Their long-term accumulation of social and economic capital increased which in turn enhanced the next generations’ life chances.

In South Africa: misguided view

In South Africa the child support grant is given to 12 million guardians of children under the age 18. They receive about US$ 27 (R360) a month.

The grant has been distributed since 1996. It was initially only for children younger than five but eligibility has progressively expanded to older children over time.

But the existing grant is inadequate because it fails to undo the harms of maternal deprivation during pregnancy.

The government’s reluctance to begin the grant in pregnancy might be based on the view – commonly held in the broader society – that it would encourage women to become pregnant.

This is a misguided belief. Several studies have shown that child support grants do not induce poor women to become pregnant. Instead, according to the research, women spend the money on food, transport to health facilities and preparations for the child. They don’t spend the grant on luxury goods.

There are several ways that the South Africa’s government’s concerns could be addressed. For example:

the policy could allow women to receive the grant for only their first two pregnancies,

the grant could be given only to pregnant women over the age of 19.

Women who fell pregnant before they turn 19 would not be eligible for the pregnancy grant but would still qualify for the child support grant after their babies were born.

Over time, as policy makers developed confidence in the policy, the grant could be extended to pregnant women younger than 19 as well as to women with more than two children.

And pregnancy support could automatically become a child support grant once the child was born and a birth certificate or proof of delivery within a health facility was provided.

Disadvantaged for life

A pregnancy grant would compensate women for their increased costs, as well as their lost wages during pregnancy and after the baby is born. These costs are generally borne by women, as men in South Africa are very often absent.

In the formal sector this financial burden is covered for women through maternity benefits. But women in the informal sector or those who are unemployed are excluded. South Africa has an unemployment rate of 29% among women.

Beginning a support grant while women are pregnant means that the critical period before a woman gives birth is covered. Even under the present system women often only access their child support grant a year after their child is born because of processing delays. This is a most critical time in a child’s development.

The child support grant is one of the most effective interventions to enhance child health and development in South Africa but it could be way more effective.

The Conversation
Matthew Cherisch, Associate Professor at the Wits Reproductive Health & HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand and Sharon Fonn, Professsor of Public Health; Co-Director Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa; Panel Member, Private Healthcare Market Inquiry, University of the Witwatersrand