The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands a detailed explanation from the Gauteng Department of Health about reducing medico-legal liabilities by almost R7.1 billion and declaring 803 matters dormant or archived.
Lesiba Malotana, the Head of the Gauteng Health Department, disclosed this recently at a stakeholder engagement meeting with the Health Portfolio Committee.
According to Molotana, in December 2024, the department’s medico-legal liabilities comprised 1,480 cases with a total value of R14.7 billion. However, by applying Rule 37B (which pertains to cases that have been ‘dormant’ for 24 months) and Chapter 8 (which addresses cases that have been ‘dormant’ for 36 months), the Gauteng Department of Health has reported savings of R7.1 million on medico-legal claims to date.
Most of the cases involved are believed to be related to cerebral palsy (CP), which necessitates lifelong care for patients and their families.
“In the meeting, I raised concerns with the HOD about how certain cases could suddenly be labelled as ‘dormant’ or ‘archived,’ especially when the DA is aware of the aggressive tactics used to ‘mediate’ the amounts claimed in medical malpractice suits against government departments. He failed to provide exact details of how the figures declined, the exact categories of cases, or how they were mediated or determined to be dormant and archived,” says Madeleine Hicklin MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Health.
I have requested that a full and detailed list of all dormant and archived cases be made available for scrutiny as soon as possible and emphasised the need for transparency.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would implement a professional legal strategy to quickly process legitimate claims, prevent fraudulent claims, and address conditions in hospitals that lead to costly medical mistakes.