WATCH: Gauteng’s R1,6 billion in medico-legal claims a concern, but being addressed

The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) said while the issue of medico-legal claims remains a concern, especially in light of more than one and a half billion Rand being wrangled over on these matters last year, it is making progress in reducing the burden.

The GDoh said the medical negligence claims also often lead to a situation where limited funds are diverted to settle claims, instead of contributing to maintaining and expanding services.

The department was responding to claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that it had received 157 new summonses in the last year which claim R1.6 billion for medical negligence.

The DA said the information was disclosed in a presentation by the GDoH at a meeting of the Gauteng Legislature’s Health Committee.

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health said that according to the department, medical-legal litigation continues to increase and “extraordinary measures must be taken to prevent a possible collapse of the health care system.”

“The department also identifies the legal attachment of funds as ‘a huge challenge to the financial sustainability of the department’ as they ‘diminish the ability of the department to render health services to patients as it is obliged to do in terms of section 27 of the Constitution’.”

“The department has been refused extra funding to pay for adverse judgements which is why its own funds are attached by creditors,” Bloom said.

Spokesperson for Gauteng Health MEC Kwarra Kekana said as part of a long-term intervention, the GDoH late in 2019 started implementing the Mediation Policy and the Mediation Strategy, after it was approved by the Gauteng Provincial Government Executive Committee.

“The adoption of the mediation strategy has interventions to deal with medico-legal cases, and has saved government millions of Rands, and the process has proven to be quicker and less acrimonious, with cases being settled faster.”

Kekana said the National Department of Health (NDoH) appointed a service provider to assist the department through the verification of its contingent liability amount.

“Contingent liability refers to the potential risk exposure that the department would possibly face if they were ordered to pay the amounts claimed through summons received, however in the majority of cases the amounts awarded by the courts are far less than the amount claimed by the plaintiffs.

“The process of auditing the raw data commenced in April 2022, and is underway to verify the raw data for accuracy. Therefore, figures provided are likely to change as these form part of the contingent liability and not cases settled,” Kekana said.

During a press briefing at Baragwaneth Hospital in April this year, Gauteng Health CFO Laerato Madyo acknowledged that medico-legal cases was of serious concern.

“We all know that due to cases of negligence, the department is taken to court and based on the resolutions that are taken by the court we are then obligated to pay this medicolegal amounts.”

Madyo said the department has made progress in reducing the balance of medicolegal claims.

“Medico-legal cases we started with payments of about R583 million by end of 2020/2021 financial year. Now in 2021/2022 we are talking of plus minus at least R292 million.”

Madyo said this related only to cases which the courts have instructed the department to pay based on medical negligence of the department’s own clinicians.

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