Mandela to receive intensive care at home

Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital yesterday while still in a critical condition and was taken by ambulance to his Johannesburg home where he will receive intensive care, the office of South Africa’s president said.

On a sunny but cold morning, an ambulance took the 95-year-old anti-apartheid leader home from the hospital in the capital, Pretoria, about 31 miles (50km) away.

Mandela had been hospitalised for nearly three months, after being admitted on Jun 8 for what the government described as a recurring lung infection.

Mandela’s condition “is at times unstable”, said president Jacob Zuma’s statement yesterday

“His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there,” the statement said.

“The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital.

“If there are health conditions that warrant another admission to hospital in future, this will be done.”

The statement said that during his stay in hospital, Mandela “vacillated between serious to critical and at times unstable”, and “despite the difficulties imposed by his various illnesses, he, as always, displays immense grace and fortitude”.

Referring to Mandela by his clan name, Zuma’s statement added: “Madiba has been treated by a large medical team from the military, academia, private sector and other public health spheres. We thank all the health professionals at the hospital for their dedication.”

The government has released few details about Mandela’s condition, citing patient confidentiality and appealing for Mandela’s privacy and dignity to be respected.

However, rumours and unconfirmed reports about Mandela’s health have persisted on social media and other forums, fuelled in part by a feud within the Mandela family.

In a court case stemming from a family dispute over burial sites, some members of Mandela’s extended family recently said in court documents that the anti-apartheid leader was being kept alive by a breathing machine and faces “impending death”.

That account was disputed by Zuma’s office.

The office denied that Mandela was “vegetative” but acknowledged that his condition was grave.