Negligence and Theft at Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital Linked to Patient Deaths. Image Credit: Alicestine October
(The Post News)- A damning report released by Health Ombudsman Professor Taole Mokoena on Wednesday has exposed widespread mismanagement, systemic failures, and negligence at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital (NCMHH), which have led to serious harm and loss of life.
The investigation, commissioned by Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, was prompted by the deaths of two patients and the critical condition of two others admitted to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) during July and August last year.
Professor Mokoena revealed that patients at NCMHH were subjected to extreme cold due to prolonged power outages caused by cable theft and the sabotage of a power substation.
He criticized the slow response in restoring electricity, noting that while private hospitals typically repair such infrastructure within days, public hospitals can take up to a year, which he described as a grave indictment of public healthcare management.
The investigation revealed a severely compromised healthcare environment, with collapsing infrastructure, prolonged electricity outages, leaking roofs, and inadequate heating and ventilation systems, all contributing to unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths.
The delays in restoring power also rendered essential medical equipment unusable, including life-saving resuscitation devices that could not be charged, and critical drugs were reportedly unavailable.
Further findings highlighted that patients and staff were exposed to extreme temperatures during both summer and winter. The hospital lacked sufficient warm clothing and blankets, leaving patients vulnerable to cold, especially at night.
These conditions directly contributed to the death of one patient from hypothermia and another who developed multilobar pneumonia, possibly complicated by intracranial bleeding and stroke due to exposure to cold.
The report also criticized the provincial Department of Health’s supply chain management, stating that inefficiencies and unfit processes contributed to the long delays in infrastructure repairs. Staffing shortages compounded the crisis, with junior healthcare workers left to manage high-dependency units without proper supervision.
This led to poor clinical decisions that might have been avoided if senior staff were present.
Professor Mokoena emphasized that the hospital lacks adequate rejuvenation equipment and essential medicines.
He noted that three patients died as a result of these failures. One of the deceased, who had been transferred from RMSH to NCMHH, required urgent rejuvenation but could not be assisted due to non-functioning equipment. The other two patients were identified as Tshepo Mdimbaza and Petrus de Bruins.
“This tragic situation could have been prevented,” Mokoena concluded, “had proper systems been in place, and critical infrastructure maintained.”
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