General
Gauteng Health compensates woman shackled to hospital bench─── 09:27 Mon, 06 Jan 2020
The Gauteng Health Department has compensated the woman shackled to a hospital bench last year. And it's apologised to her publicly.
There was widespread outrage when a picture of Martha Marais shackled to a seat at Mamelodi Hospital went viral on social media.
Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku visited Marais and her family in Pretoria on Sunday and says the terms of the settlement will not be disclosed.
“Due to confidentiality requirements of the mediation, the parties to the matter will not disclose the terms of the settlement. Both parties believe that the settlement is comprehensive and fair enough as it includes redress and improvements of our protocols at facility level.”
Marais now receives treatment at Steve Biko Academic Hospital and has been undergoing counselling.
Martha Marais' family says she's recovering well emotionally and is relieved by the settlement. The family has thanked South Africa for its undying support.
Family spokesperson, Virginia Keppler, says Marais speaks less of the incident now.
The Gauteng Health Department says it will ensure this kind of abuse never happens again.
