Despite 10 deaths at a cost of R200 million in compensation over the last two years, the Western Cape Department of Health cannot confirm a single disciplinary hearing resulting from any medical malpractice.
News24 reports that the department confirmed a total of 67 medical malpractice cases for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years.
According to data provided by the department, the 10 largest claims ranged from R17.9 million to R8.9 million, and totaled R124.65 million.
Of these fatalities, five resulted from cerebral palsy (brain damage during labor), recognized as the biggest cause of claims.
According to a discussion paper compiled by the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC), half of claims countrywide pertain to cerebral palsy caused during labor. In the Western Cape, R109 million in payments were made to claimants for cerebral palsy.
When explicitly asked for the number of disciplinary hearings resulting from malpractice cases, the communications director, Marika Champion, told News24 she could not provide any numbers, but said: “Each case has a unique set of circumstances, which is investigated thoroughly.”
“In many cases, it is not possible to pinpoint a specific individual or causality – as there are often a number of factors at play.”
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However, a health department official confirmed that, of the 67 cases in the province, six occurred at the New Somerset Hospital.
It’s understood nobody had been disciplined.
One case resulted from a retained intra-abdominal swab, for which compensation of R1.5 million was paid.
Another R40 000 was paid out for giving a baby breast milk from the wrong mother.
Western Cape health’s head of the department, Keith Cloete, declined to comment on whether the medical practitioners involved in the malpractice cases continued in their positions.
The Auditor-General’s 2020/21 Consolidated General Report on National and Provincial Audit Outcomes recorded that “the provincial health departments paid out R1.76 billion for medical negligence claims, while the estimated settlement value of unpaid claims at year-end was R124.15 billion (75% of the total claims against the state).
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