THE Free State provincial health department faced medical negligence claims amounting to a whopping R5.01 billion during the 2022/23 financial year, the Auditor General of South Africa’s latest report on government audit outcomes has revealed.
The figure is up by 9.86 percent compared with the R4.56 billion recorded in the previous year.
Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke said medical negligence claims against the health department put further pressure on the Free State’s already strained finances.
“These claims increased from R4.56 billion last year to R5.01 billion in 2022/23,” she said in the report released on Wednesday.
“This has a significant impact on the lives of patients, who may require full-time care and treatment, as well as on their immediate family members.”
Medical negligence happens when a patient suffers harm as the result of a doctor, or other healthcare professional, failing to provide a good standard of practice and care.
“The department only settled a few claims because of delays in negotiating final settlement amounts,” Maluleke said.
The AG also flagged shortcomings at various public healthcare facilities around the Free State, saying most did not comply with occupational health and safety regulations.
“. . . an ideal clinic should have adequate staff, medication, infrastructure, administrative processes and bulk supplies,” she noted.
“However, the health department’s primary healthcare facilities did not meet ideal clinic status.”
The healthcare facilities, the audit report says, did not maintain backup supplies for electricity
or safe drinking water.
It adds that medicine was not stored at the required temperature, expired medication was not always removed and stored separately from other medication, while essential medication was not always readily available to patients.
“These shortcomings could have devastating consequences in future, as non-compliant facilities might not be able to provide the necessary treatment and medication to communities and address patient healthcare needs,” Maluleke said.
“We continue to engage the accounting officer to influence the department’s efforts to address these shortcomings,
as we have seen that his interventions have brought about a positive shift in the culture and responsiveness of the department.” – Staff Reporter