By MKHULULI NDAMASE
The Mthatha Hospital Complex is being sued for more than R3-billion in medical negligence cases.
In the year from last April to this March, more than 60 cases have been filed against Mthatha Regional, Nelson Mandela Central and Bedford Orthopaedic hospitals.
Complaints include brain damage, epilepsy, paralysis, lost vision and cuts on a baby’s face.
The Daily Dispatch reported earlier this month that the Eastern Cape health department had already paid out close to R12-billion in negligence claims between April 2004 and March 31 this year – an average of R1-billion a year.
The latest litigation statistics reveal that most of the claims are for R15-million to R20-million. The highest amount is R32-million, but details on the case were not available.
More than half the claims are against Mthatha Regional Hospital.
Eastern Cape health MEC Dr Phumza Dyantyi said the claim saga was a “nightmare that keeps me wide awake at night”.
Last week she launched a neonatal unit in the Mthatha Regional Hospital which she hopes will decrease the number of medical negligence claims.
The department has also implemented a digital registration system to prevent theft of patient files.
After seminars on how to deal with escalating litigation, they decided last year that a health ombudsman would be roped in to mediate before a matter went to court. Dyantyi accused “unscrupulous lawyers” – who at times end up getting the lion’s share of the payout – of using the department as a “cash cow”.
“At times we cannot defend ourselves because files have been stolen.
“We cannot defend ourselves because the patient has already been coerced not to listen to us,” said the MEC.
“Do you know how much service delivery we would do if we didn’t have these cases,” she added.
Komani-based lawyer Milile Mpambaniso was struck from the roll of attorneys earlier this month after he was convicted of 28 counts of Road Accident Fund (RAF) fraud.
The Grahamstown High Court ruled that Mpambaniso was not fit to practise as an attorney. In one case, he had taken 84% of a disabled client’s RAF award as his fee.
Meanwhile, in the last two years alone, the department of health has paid out more than R100-million to him in medical negligence claims.
The Dispatch also reported on how some patients, despite winning millions from the department, were battling to survive as they had never received their full payout.
Nelson Mandela Central Hospital clinical governance head Dr Mbuyiselo Madiba blamed the high number of litigation cases against the three hospitals on lawyers who had hit on a scheme to milk the department of millions.
“Let’s stop doctors and nurses because no one was ever employed to be negligent.
“When patients go to hospitals we assess their seriousness and start with the most critical.
“But someone who was not the most critical would complain that he was not helped in time while a doctor was busy saving someone’s life.
“There’s so much corruption in this because lawyers have seen that a way of making money is through the department of health.”
He said a fingerprint system to access patient files and an electronic filing system were some of the solutions needed to curb the problem of files being stolen.
Dyantyi said the department had also embarked on a process of bringing in experts to deal with the litigation cases.
“So when we have this panel of experts which will have lawyers, doctors and psychologists under one roof, we think we’ll be able to defend our cases better, because most of our cases are defendable.
“Where we think a case is not defendable, there is no need for us to go into expenses because there are some cases that you cannot defend. Those are clear negligence cases,” she said.
The MEC said they were looking at other strategies, such as having a cerebral palsy centre where “children who were unfortunate victims are housed and are government responsibility from the start”.
“Rather this than taking R20-million and giving it to a lawyer who will give the parents R100000, which results in them not getting the care that they are supposed to get,” said the MEC.
“These are all the strategies that we have.”
R3bn more claims hit hospitals
The Mthatha Hospital Complex is being sued for more than R3-billion in medical negligence cases.
In the year from last April to this March, more than 60 cases have been filed against Mthatha Regional, Nelson Mandela Central and Bedford Orthopaedic hospitals.
Complaints include brain damage, epilepsy, paralysis, lost vision and cuts on a baby’s face.
The Daily Dispatch reported earlier this month that the Eastern Cape health department had already paid out close to R12-billion in negligence claims between April 2004 and March 31 this year – an average of R1-billion a year.
The latest litigation statistics reveal that most of the claims are for R15-million to R20-million. The highest amount is R32-million, but details on the case were not available.
More than half the claims are against Mthatha Regional Hospital.
Eastern Cape health MEC Dr Phumza Dyantyi said the claim saga was a “nightmare that keeps me wide awake at night”.
Last week she launched a neonatal unit in the Mthatha Regional Hospital which she hopes will decrease the number of medical negligence claims.
The department has also implemented a digital registration system to prevent theft of patient files.
After seminars on how to deal with escalating litigation, they decided last year that a health ombudsman would be roped in to mediate before a matter went to court. Dyantyi accused “unscrupulous lawyers” – who at times end up getting the lion’s share of the payout – of using the department as a “cash cow”.
“At times we cannot defend ourselves because files have been stolen.
“We cannot defend ourselves because the patient has already been coerced not to listen to us,” said the MEC.
“Do you know how much service delivery we would do if we didn’t have these cases,” she added.
Komani-based lawyer Milile Mpambaniso was struck from the roll of attorneys earlier this month after he was convicted of 28 counts of Road Accident Fund (RAF) fraud.
The Grahamstown High Court ruled that Mpambaniso was not fit to practise as an attorney. In one case, he had taken 84% of a disabled client’s RAF award as his fee.
Meanwhile, in the last two years alone, the department of health has paid out more than R100-million to him in medical negligence claims.
The Dispatch also reported on how some patients, despite winning millions from the department, were battling to survive as they had never received their full payout.
Nelson Mandela Central Hospital clinical governance head Dr Mbuyiselo Madiba blamed the high number of litigation cases against the three hospitals on lawyers who had hit on a scheme to milk the department of millions.
“Let’s stop doctors and nurses because no one was ever employed to be negligent.
“When patients go to hospitals we assess their seriousness and start with the most critical.
“But someone who was not the most critical would complain that he was not helped in time while a doctor was busy saving someone’s life.
“There’s so much corruption in this because lawyers have seen that a way of making money is through the department of health.”
He said a fingerprint system to access patient files and an electronic filing system were some of the solutions needed to curb the problem of files being stolen.
Dyantyi said the department had also embarked on a process of bringing in experts to deal with the litigation cases.
“So when we have this panel of experts which will have lawyers, doctors and psychologists under one roof, we think we’ll be able to defend our cases better, because most of our cases are defendable.
“Where we think a case is not defendable, there is no need for us to go into expenses because there are some cases that you cannot defend. Those are clear negligence cases,” she said.
The MEC said they were looking at other strategies, such as having a cerebral palsy centre where “children who were unfortunate victims are housed and are government responsibility from the start”.
“Rather this than taking R20-million and giving it to a lawyer who will give the parents R100000, which results in them not getting the care that they are supposed to get,” said the MEC.
“These are all the strategies that we have.”
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