Gauteng Health explains measures to reduce attacks from mental health patients
The Gauteng Department of Health (DoH) says it has implemented measures to reduce violent incidents involving mental health patients at its facilities.
For the period between January 2020 to November 2021, there was a total of 41 attack incidents on staff by mental healthcare patients in the province's healthcare facilities.
"These attacks vary, but in the main revolve around nurses, doctors and security guards being either assaulted or bitten by mental healthcare patients," said the Department's Kwara Kekana on Tuesday.
In one incident, a patient at a clinic in Sedibeng Health District pulled a light bulb from the ceiling and attacked staff.
The 41 attack incidents happened in 10 healthcare facilities in the province namely, Far East Rand Hospital (12), Leratong hospital (7), Pretoria West Hospital (6), Tembisa Tertiary Hospital (5), Jubilee Hospital (4), Odi Hospital (3), Tara H Moross Psychiatric Hospital (2), Lenasia South District Hospital and Levai Mbatha Community Healthcare centre had one incident each.
Kekana says as part of efforts to reduce attacks on hospital staff by mental health care patients in public hospitals, they provide continuous training to its staff on how to manage aggressive patients.
The department says it sedates mental health patients on arrival at casualty wards when necessary.
They add that other measures include sedating mental patients at casualty on arrival at a facility where necessary.
"In other instances, mental healthcare patients are admitted to 72-hour observation units immediately," says Kekana.
"Doctors and nurses accompany each other when attending to mental healthcare patients. In addition, the Department has placed security personnel at casualty department to assist with psychiatric patients."
Editorial note: this story has been edited and updated subsequent to its initial publication.
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