Gauteng Health has come under fire from the legislature’s Health Portfolio Committee after discrepancies were noted in its 2023/24 financial report, with chairperson Rebecca Phaladi-Digamela saying the medico-legal claims did not correspond, and the DA slamming the fact that it achieved just 56 out of 106 targets in the first quarterly report.
“The department reported that medico-legal claims were R13.78bn. However, in the quarterly meeting, where the committee monitored the progress in interventions, the department reported that legal claims were currently at R20.8bn,” Phaladi-Digamela said.
In May, while delivering the department’s budget vote in the legislature, Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko had said medico-legal claims were still a major concern, that the department had managed to reduce the rand value and the contingent liabilities to R20.8bn as of the end of March.
News24 reports that new reforms to be undertaken by the department will include that when hospitals CEOs are hired, their employment contracts must set the reduction of medico-legal claims as a key performance target.
And last month, she said the department would intensify control systems in some problematic hospitals to improve financial stability.
“The achievement of targets is not satisfactory or in line with budget spend. On administration, emergency medical services, health science and training and health facilities management, the department recorded 0% achievement of targets,” she noted.
The department spent R698 405 in administration, exceeding the R529 835 allocated for the quarter under review.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was allocated R518 984, and R628 565 was spent. Provincial hospital services were allocated R3 219 012, and R3 296 046 was spent.
The department had recorded non-achievement in the percentage of service providers’ invoices without dispute paid within 30 days, and also non-achievement of TB patients lost to follow-up and TB treatment success rate.
It now has until 31 October to provide detailed progress reports. It also needs to audit and give a report, with accurate rand value, for money on medico-legal claims to provide accurate reporting to the committee.
Additionally, it must provide mitigation plans to ensure tthe expenditure is aligned to the performance.
The DA’s Jack Bloom said the public health crisis was deepening because the provincial Health Department had achieved just 56 out of 106 targets disclosed in the first quarterly report, which covered April to June this year.
“The report showed that four out of eight programmes achieved 0% of their targets. Other dismal figures include R880 270 000 irregular expenditure and only 41% of invoices paid within the required 30 days,” he said.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Reducing medico-legal claims to be included in Gauteng hospital CEOs contracts
Gauteng Health negligence crisis because of ‘management problems’
Legal vacancies hobble Gauteng Health and negligence claims