Luanda - The Luanda Psychiatric Hospital has 274 abandoned patients, out of 384 admitted, a situation that worries the management of this unit, lamented, this Monday, the institution's general director, Antónia de Sousa.
Speaking to ANGOP, she said that the number of patients abandoned by their families has been growing year after year and around 71 percent of patients in this condition have been in the hospital for more than 10 years.
The person responsible regrets the scenario and states that this abandonment is greater in people with infectious and mental illnesses.
“This situation is quite complicated. In some cases, family members only show up at the hospital to take the death report and prepare the funeral,” she said.
The same reality in other units
At Américo Boavida Hospital, around 14 patients are abandoned by their family members, the majority of whom are young.
The health unit's social worker, Wuawua Pedro, who provided the information, said that it has been difficult to convince families to take these relatives home after medical discharge, criticizing the fact that some have been in the hospital for more than 8 years.
He made it known that many patients are carriers of contagious diseases, which ends up negatively influencing their acceptance in the family environment, due to the wrong conception of how diseases are transmitted.
The social worker at Josina Machel Hospital, Alfredo Kilulu, stated that the reasons are unacceptable and they have great difficulty in locating family members because some give false addresses.
“We even have cases of family members who even try to offer money to keep their relative in the hospital, even after medical discharge and demonstration of good recovery,” he highlighted.
Report of abandoned patients
Those who share this anguish are patients Dário de oliveira and Maria Paiva, admitted to the psychiatric hospital for more than 15 years.
According to Dário Oliveira, even after his medical discharge, his mother preferred to keep him in the hospital to supposedly preserve his marriage.
Sad about the situation he finds himself in, the young man, who dreams of being an engineer, begs for his family's attention.
Those who also vented were young João da Costa, aged 30, and Benvindo Miaca, aged 29, both admitted to Josina Machel.
João da Costa had his leg amputated and has been in hospital for three years, while Benvindo Miaca, musician and lead singer of the band Olímpia, has been in hospital for six years.
Without knowing the reasons and searching for answers, both show deep sadness and abandonment.
Paula Eliane, 26 years old, has been admitted to psychiatry for a year and, upon being discharged and returning home, she was expelled by her mother, finding herself forced to return to the hospital because she allegedly had nowhere to live.
Despite not receiving visits from her family, Paula hopes that one day this will all end.
Sociologist points out causes
To better understand the reasons for this phenomenon, ANGOP listened to sociologist Euclides Lopes, for whom, among several causes, socioeconomic problems and the breakdown of values in families are the underlying reasons for this problem.
He states, however, that, despite this abandonment, many patients also prefer to remain in the hospital because they have regular food and a bed to sleep.
For you, the family should be the first and main sociocultural group, promoting the health and well-being of your relative.
Risks of staying in hospitals
For the infectious disease doctor, Maria Mateta, the patient's stay in the hospital, after discharge, ends up removing the possibility of another patient occupying that bed, subjecting themselves to several risks of contracting infections.
She adds that the attitude of many families in transferring their responsibilities to the hospital has consequences, not only administrative, but also psychological. EVC/ART/DOJ
