The Portfolio Committee on Health held a joint meeting with the Standing Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday on the effective coordination and alignment of national and provincial spheres of government in the delivery of health services so as to ensure value for money, efficient planning and resource allocation.
The Committees are meeting over three days and will be briefed by various stakeholders, including all nine provincial health departments.
Briefing the Committees, the National Treasury said medical legal claims are a concern, especially in provinces such as the Eastern Cape (EC), Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Mpumalanga. In KZN and (EC, actual payouts are higher than the other provinces for the 2016/17 financial year.
In its presentation, National Treasury said improved systems need to put in place to manage medical legal claims. In KZN for the 2016/17 financial year, approximately R243m has been paid out, an increase of 127% from 2012/13 to 2015/16 financial years. In EC the payout of medical legal claims for the 2016/17 financial year is about R210m.
Briefing the Committee, the MEC for Health in the EC, Ms Pumza Dyantyi, said the province takes these claims seriously and that some of them date back 10 years. Ms Dyantyi said they have found collusion amongst lawyers and clinical staff. “There is collusion amongst the lawyers and we cannot deny that there is also collusion amongst the people in the department,” said Ms Dyantyi. “The biggest litigator, a lawyer is based in Gauteng, we are under siege as the media broadcasts services rendered by lawyers,” she added.
Responding to the presentations, the Committee raised concerns with the escalating costs of the claims, which seems to be a problem across all provinces. Committee member Ms Sheila Shope-Sithole said the issue of collusion should be investigated by the relevant authorities. The Hawks and Competition Commission should be informed of the situation, she said.
Other Committee members agreed, saying that law enforcement agencies should be informed so that an investigation can be instituted on the alleged collusion of lawyers. Another Committee member, Mr Ndabakayise Gcwabaza, said it appears to be a national issue, as all the provinces that presented experience the same problem. Mr Gcwabaza made a proposal that the matter should be escalated to the National Department Health where it can be dealt with and addressed by relevant security agencies.
Committee member Dr Patrick Maesela questioned how provinces will combat the underlying causes of the litigations. “It’s so big it needs legislation to combat, but legislation alone will not be the panacea of the problem.”
Mr Alan McLaughlin, another Committee member, said it is concerning to be told lawyers are stealing files. “Action should be taken against lawyers who we are informed are colluding. If there is evidence against these lawyers this needs to be taken to law societies and the police.”
Yoliswa Landu
23 March 2017
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