Psychiatric patients at Helen Joseph Hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, have assaulted more than 30 staff members including nurses – two of whom were “bitten”.
In one of the more serious attacks, a staffer was stabbed by a psychiatric patient and suffered a collapsed lung. The staffer had to be hospitalised.
Jack Bloom, the Democratic Alliance Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, made the shocking revelations Tuesday.
“Psychiatric patients at the Helen Joseph Hospital have assaulted 32 staff members and caused extensive property damage in the past year,” said Bloom.
“These shocking figures are revealed in a written reply by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.”
Bloom said the incidents of attacks on staff have “shot up because of a massive increase in psychiatric patients after the fire at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital closed their psychiatric unit”.
He said hospital staff live in fear because of the violence by psychiatric patients.
Bloom said reported incidents include two nurses and a psychiatrist were bitten, a nurse was hit by a patient who broke her glasses, a guard was stabbed with a knife and ended up in casualty with a collapsed lung and a psychiatric patient picked up a wheelchair and tried to throw it at staff.
“Other staff have described slaps and scratches and being molested,” said Bloom.
He said property damage includes broken windows, damaged doors, electrical cables that were tampered with, and broken basins, taps, and toilet seats.
A bed and mattress were also burnt.
“There are only 45 beds for psychiatric patients but the hospital sees about 90 psychiatric patients every day,” said Bloom.
“Another problem is a shortage of toilets for the patients.
“Desperate staff phone other psychiatric units every day for possible beds but mostly none are available.”
Bloom said Mokgethi told the legislature that there had been attempts “to discharge patients who, despite not yet being psychiatrically well, are deemed a low risk to self/others and have opened a discharge clinic on a Monday to review these patients in the outpatient department.”
Extra staff and security were urgently needed at Helen Joseph Hospital, said Bloom.
