The Limpopo Health Department has defended its proposals to amend its healthcare workers’ shift systems – including the reduction of doctors’ overtime hours – which the South African Medical Association (Sama) says could affect the “terms and conditions of members’ employment”.
However, the department said it had taken into account a number of factors when devising the proposed system, including a high medico-legal claims bill, partly linked to doctors working extraordinarily long hours, reports News24.
Last February, the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) expressed alarm over the number of medico-legal claims brought against the department, which amounted to R14bn.
Department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said the negligence claims dated back to the 2014/2015 financial year, and that most cases were still subject to investigations and were yet to reach the courts.
Sama spokesperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa said the association had cautioned the department that implementing the proposed shift system might have severe prejudicial consequences for doctors.
“It may also have the effect of unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of its members’ employment and, in particular, to the commuted overtime system.”
But Shikwambana said the department had just brought in a contingent of 400 doctors for the province.
“This means we got more help, and we have to place them to get maximum value for money. We are dealing with several factors, including a high bill of medico-legal claims. Doctors are not robots; they are human beings who get tired,” he said.
When doctors get tired, mistakes happen, he added.
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