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Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital.
The Kimberley Magistrate’s Court has transferred the R51 million tender fraud case in the Northern Cape to the high court for pre-trial in April.
Nine accused are allegedly linked to tender fraud for the construction of the Northern Cape Mental Hospital.
They face fraud, corruption and money laundering charges, amongst others.
The accused, who include former African National Congress provincial chairperson John Block, were served with indictment documents.
Spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority in the Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, says the state is ready to proceed with the trial.
“The matter is being transferred to the high court for a pre-trial conference where each of the accused will be able to voice if they are ready for the trial to commence. As the state, we are ready for this trial to start, we have been indicating that there is a case where the accused needs to answer to and so this pre-trial conference will indicate that we are ready and have been ready, we are ready to proceed to the trial stage.”
Shocking report findings
Last year, the Health Ombud released a damning report on the state of the Northern Cape Mental Hospital and the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital following the death of two psychiatric patients and the immobile state of another patient who remains bedridden.
Health Ombud Professor Taole Mokoena’s report has painted a grim picture on the state of healthcare at both facilities, concluding that the patients who died could have been saved if proper clinical care been offered.
Professor Mokoena called for a review of supply chain systems, disciplinary hearings, training of hospital personnel and an overhaul of both facilities.
“Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital was found to have poor governance and systemic lack of leadership and poor management at all levels, unpreparedness for emergency cases, crumbling infrastructure, poor pharmacy and medicine control management, shortage of staff, poor quality assurance management, non-compliance with patient record keeping and poor laundry services. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital was found to be experiencing critical staff shortage across the board; lack of oversight with nursing supervision; communication breakdown of reporting systems, non-compliance with guidelines on principles of good record keeping and overcrowding at the hospital emergency centre – aggravated by the absence of a district or regional hospital,” added Mokoena.
In a report covered two weeks ago, the provincial Department of Health committed to investigating incidents of alleged psychiatric patient neglect claimed by some families in the province.
Two families came forward following the release of the report.
Families whose matters were not part of the Health Ombudsman findings want the department to account for what happened to their relatives.
