Twenty one bed-ridden elderly people were removed from an old age home in
Maphumulo in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday, Social Development MEC Wesizwe Thusi
said.
"The elderly, all of them female, had been under the care of Masikane
Christian Care Home for the Aged, which has been operating illegally."
She said the home forfeited its licence to operate as a non-profit
organisation in 2010 when it failed to comply with regulations governing the
Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) sector.
It had no running water, no electricity and residents had been kept in untidy
and unhygienic conditions.
"Most of them were bed-ridden, had septic bed sores and required urgent
medical attention."
They had since been moved to Umphumulo Hospital for medical check-ups and
once they were discharged, they would be relocated to Zibambeleni Old Age Home
in Clermont, Durban, Thusi said.