GAUTENG HEALTH PAYS R276M FOR MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

The Gauteng Health Department paid R276 million over two years for 110 legal claims, the vast majority for medical negligence at hospitals.

This is revealed in documents I obtained from the department after making an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

The highest pay-out was R16.5 million in the case of Kutloano Ntsebeng Makgomarela, who was brain-damaged when she was born at the Tembisa Hospital.

The Sheriff of the court visited the department seven times in 2013/14 because of overdue payments, and R4.4 million was wasted in paying interest on overdue accounts

R155 million was paid for 59 legal claims for the 2013/14 financial year and R121 million in the previous year for 51 court cases,

The upward trend in negligence cases is worrying, as is the department's poor handling of these cases as it has lost every single case in the past four years.

I hope that the court cases spur action by the department to root out bad medical practices that injure patients.

Statement by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, March 2 2015

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