With medico-legal claims against state health facilities continuing to rise, the Health Department was moving ahead with plans to offer mediation before cases reached the litigation stage, notes MedicalBrief.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said medico-legal claims had exceeded R1.1bn just since April 2024 alone, with the bulk of them from Gauteng.
Cumulative costs breached R6.1bn between 2019 and 2023, according to the Minister’s response to parliamentary questions from DA MP Michele Clarke.
Costs of the claims from April 2024 to date totalled R1 106 972 117,65, reports Cape Times, with Gauteng notching up R421m of this amount, followed by the Eastern Cape with R306m and Western Cape R128m, while Northern Cape recorded just R2.1m during the same period.
The breakdown for claims costs per year were as follows:
* 2019-20 – R1.5bn;
* 2020-21 – R1.7bn;
* 2021-22 – R936m;
* 2022-23 – R1.2bin, and
* 2023-24 – R1.1bn
The Minister said of the 1 652 medico-legal claims filed, 1 131 are from the Eastern Cape, Limpopo recorded 174 and Mpumalanga 114. Motsoaledi noted that a total of 277 cases have been paid either in full or in part, or have had payments directed towards equipment and services by the provinces.
Of these, 201 involved obstetric incidents resulting in 174 neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy; 17 involved early neonatal or child deaths; five involved maternal deaths; two involved child injuries; two involved child blindness; and one involved child bacterial meningitis.
Motsoaledi acknowledged that many of the obstetric cerebral palsy issues arose from factors including inadequate monitoring, failure to adhere to medical guidelines, limited resources, and insufficient staff training.
There were also 27 general surgical errors claims and nine orthopaedic cases; 38 general medicines claims involving the mismanagement and misdiagnosis of patients; one dental claim and one forensic claim.
Provincial departments have spent R615m on legal costs to date and R1.1bn on claim payments, he revealed.
Asked about measures to reduce medical negligence claims and strengthen accountability, Motsoaledi referred to a presentation by his department with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and added that the department was considering mediation, to reduce cases heard in court, and to be done immediately after an adverse event, when a letter of demand stage was received, during litigation and trial.
He said 18 provincial officials had already been trained, and his department was also re-advertising a tender to help with medico-legal claims. A similar tender was awarded 2019 to co-opt companies with multiple skills including legal, forensic investigation, data analysis and data capturing.
The contracts were for three years at a time.
Cape Times PressReader article – Medico-legal claims cost over R1.1bn – Motsoaledi (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
What provinces are coughing up for medico-legal claims
SIU cracks down on fraudulent Eastern Cape medico-legal claims