Life Nkanyisa’s Witpoort Recovery Centre in Lemmer Road, Vulcania, had to close recently because of the withdrawal of funding from the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD).
This left many of the staff of this centre, and colleagues at the Randfontein centre that also had to close, without jobs.
Patients also have nowhere to go, as the intake of new patients ceased in May this year and the remaining patients completed their treatment.
Given the current landscape in South Africa surrounding drug-related crime and health crises, the closure of these centres could spell disaster for the communities they serve.
On September 18, and again on September 23, the Witpoort centre staff and former patients picketed against the closure of the centre, as it would mean the loss of 730 beds serving the community in the fight against drug addiction.
Many of the staff were unhappy with how the process was handled. They claimed they were told everything would be fine before being told they were being retrenched; allegedly without warning or explanation.
“They are playing with our lives; 173 of us are about to lose our jobs, while they promised everything would be fine. Then we were told to go to the office to collect our retrenchment letters. It is very painful,” one of the protesting staff lamented.
A former patient bemoaned the loss of support for addicts, saying: “Addicts are someone’s dad, someone’s brother or sister, son or daughter. They are people who can, when healthy, contribute to the community; they matter too.
“If this country wants a future, we have to solve the drug problem. It is underlying to all crime, and compassionate care and support for addicts is the only way,” the patient explained.
According to Life Healthcare chief operations executive Craig Koekemoer, the group regrets the GDSD’s decision to cease funding for the Nkanyisa Recovery Centre.
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“Consequently, we had no choice but to close both Nkanyisa Recovery Centre sites; Witpoort and Randfontein. These sites have served approximately 4 000 substance users annually over the past eight years,“ he said.
“This unfortunate situation affected 173 healthcare jobs. We consulted all impacted employees in line with Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act and efforts to reduce redundancies have resulted in the re-deployment of 35 impacted employees.
“Life Healthcare has proudly cared for patients in partnership with the government for over five decades, through acute physical rehabilitation, frail care, substance abuse recovery, mental health, and public primary care services.”
Life Nkanyisa continues operations in Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Western Cape, but cannot continue to function in Gauteng without DSD funding, as many of the patients are unemployed, in debt, unhoused and unable to pay the bills for their care.
A comment requested from the GDSD was not received at the time of publication.
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