Opening the unit, Life Healthcare services operations – SA executive, Dr Nilesh Patel said that people in the Cape Town area currently have to wait between three to four weeks to receive inpatient acute care for mental illness.
“Life Healthcare has been actively expanding our mental health facilities to deal with the demand from the local community as well as the broader population,” he said. South Africans suffer from generally high levels of stress and trauma fuelled by the socio-economic and political situation in the country and this is reflected in the prevalence of mental illness in the population.
A study conducted by South African Stress and Health (SASH) found that some 17m people, or about a third of the population, will have suffered from some form of mental illness at some stage of their lives. Illnesses covered a range of conditions of varying severity including depression, substance abuse, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
In the first phase of project, the 35-bed inpatient unit opens its doors on 3 October 2016 to voluntary adult patients. Ultimately it will offer 72 beds to patients.
The R 63m facility is designed to provide comprehensive in-patient and outpatient care for adults and adolescents suffering from mental health conditions. Patients and their families will benefit as a result of the unit being part of the greater hospital complex. This minimises the stigma sometimes associated with mental health conditions and makes this level of care far more acceptable and accessible.
The new hospital has also created a total of 13 nursing and 16 non-nursing positions. The space is designed to create an environment that fosters recovery, respect, dignity and safety.
“We are extremely proud of this new development and what has been accomplished. Ultimately Life Healthcare’s vision for the facility is to offer holistic treatment for patients and to set them up for successful re-integration into society” he concluded
