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More than R1 billion has been coughed up for medical negligent payouts since January 2015, but no action has been taken against Gauteng health professionals.
This is according to Democratic Alliance Gauteng spokesperson for health, Jack Bloom.
A written response by Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa to questions from the DA showed that the provincial health department paid more than R1.017 billion since January 2015, to settle 185 medical negligence claims.
“But the shocking thing really is that despite paying out so much money, having caused so much of injury to patients, no disciplinary action whatsoever has been taken against any of the staff involved in the incidents,” Bloom said today.
Another 51 negligence cases are currently before the courts.
Speaking to the media at the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park, Bloom said that this amount excluded the Life Esidimeni saga, which is currently ongoing.
“No amount of money can compensate for the agony and misery endured by the victims of medical neglect,” Bloom said.
Ramokgopa revealed that 76% of payments related to cases of brain-damaged babies as the largest category of negligence.
The hospital with the largest cases of negligence was Chris Hani Baragwanath, which has resulted in R514 million in payouts to 44 claimants.
The five largest payouts were:
• R36 795 413 for cerebral palsy caused by brain damage at birth due to Junior Ntokoza Buthelezi at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital;
• R33 469 290 for cerebral palsy caused by brain damage at Baragwanath;
• R29 989 117 for brain damage at Natalspruit Hospital;
• R24 596 364 for brain damage at Baragwanath; and
•R18 947 295 for cerebral palsy caused by brain damage at Baragwanath.
Bloom said that court-ordered payments for medical negligence had risen every year.
“According to the latest Gauteng health department annual report, the total potential medico-legal liability claims is now an astounding R13.5 billion,” he said.
Bloom said that the big question about these large amounts which have been paid out should be why they can’t allocate the money towards resources and skills training since they say that they have no budget for negligent payouts, when “negligence shouldn’t actually be happening in our hospitals to begin with”.
In a written response to City Press, the Gauteng department of health’s spokesperson for the MEC, Khutso Rabothata, said that “the department does not budget for negligence because it is considered to be fruitless and wasteful expenditure and therefore budgeting for negligence is in contravention of the Public Finance and Management Act.”
