Special Hearings — Mental Health Workshop — UNKNOWN

PROF SEEDAT: If I can just amplify on that issue, it was really around reparations that in order to repay many individuals and communities who have contributed and paid dearly for the status that we have today, is that the support of the community organisations that exist today and continue to work with individuals who are victims of the system and who continue to be victims of the system that the support - there should be strategic support for these groups by the government in order to continue the efforts that they are making currently, they need helping individuals within communities etc and in terms of academics, well that was, I mean I'm not sure how they got in there but really in terms of the government supporting community-based organisations, NGO's etc in terms of the trauma work that they do, the training that they do etc, because they're the only ones that are doing that at the moment on that scale.

CHAIRPERSON: I think academic institutions got in there because someone said that it shouldn't be just these NGO's, I don't know what people thing.
(speaker's microphone not on)
Ja.  Okay and that's our points made if anyone's got any comments.

MS MKHIZE: Did you think of including the private sector as well in this?

DR BAQWA: In terms of working with NGO's and CDO's, I mean this is an old problem that's been identified again and again and what's been spoken about now is that there should be coordination.  There are some NGO's and CDO's who are busy implementing programs in communities and without notifying the health authorities in order to gain some support and I think that's where the greatest problem is and an appeal has been made to NGO's to sort of make their presence felt, announcing themselves to say this who we are, this is what we're doing, we need support and I think there has been some proven cases where NGO's are working with government people but on a larger scale it's not happening and I cannot say whose fault it is at the moment.
 Commenting on the Ombudsbody, I'm glad that there are people who are willing to form ombudsbodies here because Hlengiwe, I'm sure you are my witness, according to the Seven Point Plan of the Mental Health Directorate, it's one of the points to actually create ombudsbody in all the provinces for - at the moment we're piloting psychiatric hospitals but as soon as the two pilot provinces have finished and we see that it's a success, it's going to go on throughout the country and what's definitely going to happen is that all hospitals, Kleenex or whatever in terms of maybe groupings of communities, the pilot will determine this.  We will have ombudsbodies to whom all the complaints from hospitals and patient care facilities will be lodged so that they can then start making an investigation and making a case and reporting the whole thing to the Human Rights Commission.  At the moment we are told funds are a problem because we were ready to set it up but now I cannot say when it's going to happen.  But if there are people who in their capacity are able to create this it would just make things much easier because when we are told okay you can go on with implementing projects then it will just be easy to take those very people who are already busy and just making the government fund it to make up those ombudsbodies which will be multiprofessionals.

PROF SEEDAT: ....make an offer and that is these are not to reduce anybody's involvement but just as a point of immediate coordination.  We have an office in Pretoria and we've got a public psychology in the public's interest standing committee and in the past those issues have not been bothered about but this is a very active group.  Just to be a sort of facilitator right now and we will work together with our colleague here to make those issues known like to government.  If the government funding is going to certain institutions then they take it up and say well what's happening?  The Laratong issues; a government subsidy is going, which it is, to Laratong, what are you doing, the superintend about that?  So we've got a contact between us as service providers and interested people in this area and it's not psychological, it is a broad health issue.  We will come in with our own expertise in the psychological sphere, the Simpsons and the Baqwa's of this world can come with the psychiatric, others with the research monitoring role can come in with their stuff, the nursing people can come in with theirs.  So that we, you see if we don't hammer these bodies, the Nursing Council, the Medical ...(indistinct) Council, all these people, they will carry on and you'll find that in a year's time will then be blaming the government, what are you doing and leaving these statutory bodies to just pass muster.  So I want to, just as a point of coordination and we from there can create some other structure if necessary.

MS MAGWAZA: If I may, I'm very glad that such a very serious human rights issue is already on the move and I just want to say from my personal experience I've been fighting for the last three years, two years since I came to South Africa, these issues in psychiatric institutions, I've gone to the superintendent, I've gone to the head of university psychiatry departments - actually Professor Robertson in UCT and the dean here, and I have moved heaven and earth and in the end I am embracing my legs and having high blood pressure.  So I really want to say, let already what this psychology in the public interest, let it take a move on and take on board the other people who are burning on these issues.

MS MKHIZE: But can I just say something, I mean what do they call you, Nothlanza(?) or Edith.  Okay she prefers to be called Edith, not Nothlanza, okay what Edith is saying and what Percy's(?) saying, we need to be very careful.  You know we need to be very careful, you know I remember some of us had problems with this ombudsmen as they are set up by the government itself because immediately there will be compromise and what Seedat is saying it's critical to watch not only council's professional bodies but also government departments.  I mean Nothlanza is saying government, I mean all government departments, especially the new government, this is not for the media, it's for this gr....(recording stops)... there should be a certain degree of independence if we want them to be effective and to bring about changes.
 Okay apparently the request is that we take our food and come back this side so that we can be able to start work at about quarter to two.  It's important for us to round off this properly, okay we break and we come back at quarter to two.
HEARING ADJOURNS
ON RESUMPTION

MS MKHIZE: Have you seen Zanele Baqwa?  Excuse me please, before  we really make concluding remarks on our part, I would like us to briefly review the process. The reason why I was looking for Zanele, Dr Baqwa is because yesterday we had said she could comment on the previous process and try to link it up today.  So I don't know what has happened to her and I don't think we will wait for her, what we'll do, we will ask other people who have got comments to make.  This is very very important, we don't want to make our own concluding remarks having not given you an opportunity to comment on the process.  Those of you who participated previously or who observed what we did, you can comment about that, whether you think this process has been valuable and how you think it should be taken forward.  Let's have an open session now.