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The Democratic Alliance notes the intervention by National Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to prevent another Life Esidimeni disaster following the threatened closure of the Talisman Foundation in south Johannesburg.

Last week Friday, the Minister convened a high-level stakeholder meeting to find urgent and sustainable solutions for the 176 mental patients at Talisman.

According to the Health Ministry, "the process of finding an amicable solution was agreed upon in that meeting, such that, no mental health user will be removed from the premises of the church, while this process of looking for a solution is going on."

It is a great relief that the deadline of 14 May for Talisman to leave its premises has now been put on hold with the concurrence of the landlord, which is the Old Apostolic Church.

Missing in all this is Premier Panyaza Lesufi who has not replied to the letter I sent him two weeks ago asking him to intervene urgently to assist the Talisman patients.

This highlights his failure to appoint decent leadership at the Gauteng Health Department, replacing the disastrous Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko with the unimpressive Faith Mazibuko.

The DA will continue to fight for mental patients to receive high-quality care and be treated with dignity and respect.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Issued by Dr Jack Bloom MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health