Question NW3682 to the Minister of Health
20 October 2015 - NW3682
Volmink, Mr HC to ask the Minister of Health
With reference to the one-stop service centers that are being established for the assessment of the former mineworkers by his department, (a) what is the current stage of implementation of the specified service and (b) how many former mineworkers (i) have attended the specified service and (ii) that have been attended to have had their compensation processes fully completed?
Reply:
a) Two One Stop Centres were opened in April 2014 in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and Carletonville in Gauteng and are currently operational. Two further One Stop Service Centres will be opened in this financial year in Burgerfort in Limpopo and Kuruman in the Northern Cape and are at an advanced stage of planning.
b) (i) As at the end of September 2015, a total of 4 165 ex-mineworkers were assessed at the Mthatha facility and 4 013 ex-mineworkers at the Carletonville facility.
(ii) The Mthatha facility referred 1 456 claimant files and the Carletonville facility referred 1 474 claimant files to the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD). A total of 413 claimant files were processed at the MBOD and 6 were paid by the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD). There are substantial backlogs in the claims assessment, processing and payment of claimant files at the MBOD and CCOD.
The management of the MBOD and CCOD, with the support of the Chamber of Mines is making interventions to improve the claims management process by deployment of medical personnel seconded from the mining sector, ensuring access to records of service from the mining companies and development of an electronic database of claimant records.
END.