The Gauteng Health budget for the 2020/21 financial years will benefit from medico-legal savings of more then R2bn, brought about by moving from litigation to mediation in medico-legal cases.
Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku said at the announcement that his department had been allocated R57.7bn for the 2020/21 financial year last week, that the top of his agenda was improving patient experience care, infrastructure, primary health care, emergency services and reducing medical litigation, reports The Times.
Masuku said the province had commenced with processes of mediation rather than litigation, which had demonstrated positive results. “The introduction of the mediation process has thus far saved the department over R38m between October 2019 and March 2020. We anticipate the contingent liability of medico-legal cases to be reduced from R22bn to R19.8bn in the current financial year,” he said
The report says in the previous financial year, Masuku said he would focus on improving 10 of the worst hospitals in the province. He announced the project was almost completed but the department would invest in excess of R1.1bn for maintenance and refurbishment of these hospitals this year.
“In 2020/21, the infrastructure programme will include implementation of measures to improve electronic security surveillance in all health facilities,” he said.
Seven new facilities were expected to be opened at the end of the financial year. These were the Mandisa Shiceka Day Clinic in Hammanskraal, Boikhutsong Clinic in Soshanguve, Phillip Moyo CHC in Daveyton, Khutsong South Clinic, Finetown Clinic in Ennerdale, Greens Park Clinic on the West Rand and Kekana Stad.
Meanwhile, the report says a hospital in Mamelodi dedicated to reducing neonatal mortality was also expected to be opened in three weeks' time. The safety of emergency services personnel had been compromised in the past year, Masuku said, and the department had taken a decision to install tracking devices in all ambulance vehicles. He said the province would continue to prioritise the provision of emergency services which proved to be in great demand.
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-06-19-heres-how-gauteng-health-plans-to-spend-r577bn-budget-for-202021/"]Full report in The Times[/link]