Medico-legal liability claims against the Gauteng Health totalled R589m from July to September this year, reports Politicsweb.
But overall, the department has brought down its liability from R22bn to R15.6bn, reports TimesLIVE. Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom said the figures were revealed in a presentation by the department to the Gauteng Legislature Health Committee this week. According to the report, the reduction is the result of:
* A reduction of R3.03bn through the proper verifying of actual claims.
* Settlements amounting to R532m from last year to date.
* A further saving of R2.78bn as a result of forensic investigation of 305 matters.
* A further reduction of R102m by successful mediation of cases from October 2019 to August 2020.
Bloom added that recent settlements of cases by mediation included:
* R1 970 000 paid to a child whose leg was amputated through negligence at Heidelberg Hospital.
* R250 000 awarded to the parents of a baby that was stillborn at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
* R800 000 awarded to the mother of another stillborn baby at Bara, who suffered a hysterectomy after a botched caesarean operation.
[link url="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-usa-records/u-s-becomes-first-nation-to-cross-10-million-covid-19-cases-as-third-wave-of-infections-surge-idUKKBN27P00S"]Full Reuters report[/link]