GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: BioEdge: Nearly 100 psychiatric patients die of neglect in South African scandal

martes, 7 de febrero de 2017

BioEdge: Nearly 100 psychiatric patients die of neglect in South African scandal

BioEdge: Nearly 100 psychiatric patients die of neglect in South African scandal

Bioedge

Nearly 100 psychiatric patients die of neglect in South African scandal

by Michael Cook | 3 Feb 2017 | 4 comments

Cost cutting in mental health is both difficult and dangerous, South African politicians have learned. The country’s health ombudsman has released a searing report on the deaths of 94 patients who had been transferred from a mental institution to 27 unlicenced facilities run by incompetent NGOs.

Last year’s move of 1200 patients from Life Healthcare Group, a private South African healthcare organisation, “was unwise and flawed,” the report said, “with inadequate planning and a chaotic and rushed or hurried implementation process.” Investigators found that the patients were hungry, filthy and ill-clad. “It’s remarkable that only one person has died from a mental health-related illness,” Professor Malegapuru W. Makgoba, the ombudsman, said. The others died from “things like dehydration, diarrhea, epilepsy, heart attacks, all other things except mental illness.” The death toll could rise.

None of the facilities had doctors, nurses or psychiatrists. (For more details, see Huffington Post article.)

The scandal has rocked South Africa. The head of the health department of Gauteng province, who was responsible for the policy, has resigned, and there are calls for the provincial premier to do the same.

We have introduced a new feature in BioEdge this week. It’s a new section called “In Depth”, where we plan to feature commentary, analysis, background and interviews.

This week Clark Hobson, of the University of Leicester, in the UK, argues that assisted suicide has a chance of becoming law in Britain through the courts, not through Parliament. In previous cases the courts have stated that Parliament must address the ban on assisted suicide appropriately. If it does not act, the Supreme Court might find that the ban infringes Article 8(1) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

It’s an intriguing argument, one that will cheer supporters and dismay opponents of assisted suicide. Of course, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, has vowed to make withdrawal from the ECHR a central plank in the 2020 election, so there might not be much time...