JOHANNESBURG – Legal advocacy group SECTION27 has warned that 174 mental healthcare patients face an uncertain future as the Talisman Foundation prepares to vacate its Johannesburg premises by mid-May following an eviction notice.
The development comes amid renewed focus on accountability for the Life Esidimeni tragedy, in which 144 mental healthcare patients died following poorly managed transfers in 2015 and 2016.
The Talisman Foundation, licensed by the Gauteng Department of Health for 200 mental healthcare users, has occupied the property owned by the Old Apostolic Church for approximately 22 years. On 12 February, the foundation received notice to vacate by 14 May.
Despite requests for a 12-month extension to secure alternative accommodation, the landlord declined further engagement in March this year.
SECTION27, representing the foundation, has raised concerns about the department’s response to the crisis. The organisation said the Gauteng Department of Health has threatened to suspend the foundation’s licence and imposed a relocation plan without meaningful consultation with mental healthcare users, their families, or the foundation itself.
“The failure to meaningfully consult with mental healthcare users perpetuates the long-standing exclusion of persons with disabilities in decision-making,” SECTION27 said in a statement.
Many families and residents have received no communication from the department regarding the relocation, despite legal obligations requiring consultation in decisions affecting mental healthcare users.
The proposed relocation plan has raised particular alarm because three of the facilities identified to receive patients were involved in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. The foundation has provided care to some residents for over five decades, with some elderly residents reaching 84 years of age.
Residents have described the Talisman Foundation as a “home”, “place of safety” and “safe haven”, according to SECTION27.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng shadow MEC for health Dr Jack Bloom said the process lacked transparency regarding patient destinations and the readiness of receiving facilities.
“We cannot ignore the painful lessons of Esidimeni, where 144 patients died after being transferred to unlicensed and ill-equipped NGOs in a reckless cost-cutting exercise,” Bloom said.
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“Any relocation of mental health patients must be done with full transparency, proper clinical oversight, meaningful family consultation, and strict adherence to legal and ethical standards.”
SECTION27 has called on the department to support the Talisman Foundation as a functioning care provider rather than pursuing what it described as a “fragmented and high-risk relocation process”. The organisation said the department should engage with the landlord to secure an extension and prevent a humanitarian crisis.
The Gauteng Department of Health has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The Life Esidimeni arbitration process, which concluded in 2018, resulted in compensation awards for families but no criminal prosecutions at the time. Recent reports indicate that criminal charges will now be pursued against those responsible for the tragedy.
