Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu said that the deteriorating state of care at the Life Esidimeni Hospital forced government to move patients in a shorter timeframe than needed for a successful marathon project.
Department officials were given six months to transfer close to 1,500 patients from the Esidimeni psychiatric hospital when the facility's contract with the state was terminated to cut costs.
Some officials are believed to have requested another six months to a year to iron out issues linked to the transfer project.Mahlangu is under cross-examination at the Life Esidimeni inquest, which is set to determine if anyone should be held criminally liable for the death of 144 mental health patients.
While Mahlangu admitted that she was aware of requests for an extension, she denied the project was rushed. Advocate Pienaar asked: "The project committee requested an extension of time - minimum of six months and maximum of a year. You were not inclined to grant that. Is that correct? Mahlangu replied: "[A] Three months extension was granted after deliberations with officials in the meeting."Mahlangu: "The decision of the meeting was that the extension must be granted for a further three months, which would make the entire process nine months in the end."
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