People's Assembly

Maesela, Dr P question

Whether, with reference to the Life Esidimeni tragedy, there are still mental health patients who are under the care of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in the country; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what is the total number of patients under the care of NGOs, (b) what is the competency level of the NGOs that provide care, (c) what monitoring systems are used to ensure the quality of care provided by the NGOs?

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Minister of Health answer
Yes. There are mental health patients under the care of NGOs.

(a) The attached table provides information per province on the NGOs that are licensed to care for mental health patients and the total number each NGO is licensed for.

(b) The NGOs that provide care are “licensed” by provinces in terms of General Mental Health Care Act, Regulations 43.

(c) The following are the systems used by Provinces to monitor the NGOs:
1. Monthly verification of services that are provided;
2. Quarterly monitoring visits by District Mental Health Coordinators;
3. Random monitoring visits by the District Teams;
4. Annual inspections as mandated by the General Mental Health Regulations, which is linked to the process of annual renewal or withdrawal of the license; and
5. Investigation of complaints.
END.
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2018-w2220 - 05 November 2018