Health warning: you will be held liable

No amount of money will bring back the family members who died because of the shocking neglect by the Gauteng department of health in the “Life Esidimeni” tragedy.

It is somewhat unfortunate that the name of the company from whom the contract to care for vulnerable patients was removed should see its name linked to the heartless and illegal way their former patients were treated after being removed from their facilities.

Yet, when you add it all up, the arbitration hearing chairperson, Judge Dikgang Moseneke, has handed out a stinging rebuke to the provincial health department. He ordered that the department pay those families involved in the hearing a total of about R200 million, but said also that he expected other families would be treated in the same way if they came forward and not be forced to undergo further arbitration hearings. Given that there are around 1 700 other families affected, the Gauteng government is looking at a potential bill of R2 billion.

It is a pity that the decision is going to cost more taxpayer money – which we do not quibble with – rather than coming out of the pockets of the Gauteng provincial officials responsible.

And, make no mistake, they are responsible. Moseneke said he could make no recommendation about whether they should be prosecuted or not, but he had no hesitation in turning over the arbitration files and evidence to the police.

We hope that the prosecuting authorities take up the case and bring charges against those involved but also that investigators get to the bottom of why the contracts were removed from Life Esidimeni in the first place.

We need to know whether this was incompetence or something more sinister, like corruption.

The arbitration decision is, though, a warning to all government health departments: you will be held to account.

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