Question NW3381 to the Minister of Health

Reply:

National Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (i) - Nil

(2) R7 299 000.00

Western Cape Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

	CLAIMED	PAID OUT
2011-12	R38 065 710.00	R15 900 800.00
2012-13	R16 577 812.00	R6 197 147.05
2013-14	R156 742 059.90	R22 587 000.00
2014-15	R66 537 807.64	R17 311 080.30

(2) R71 401 million

(3)

Year	Top 5 most common
2013-14	Neonatal encephalopathy Delayed diagnosis of illnesses Maternal / labour complications Failure to diagnose and treat
2014-15	Neonatal encephalopathy Maternal /labour complications Failure to diagnose and treat

(4)

Hospital	Number of claims	How much paid in 2014-15
Groote Schuur	3	R775 000.00
Tygerberg	3	R790 000.00
Mowbray Maternity	2	R836 600.00
Worcester	2	R4 867 615.00
Karl Bremer	1	R200 000.00
Hanna Coetzee clinic	1	R1 227 660.00
Retreat MOU	1	R220 000.00
Clanwilliam	1	R100 000.00
Delft CHC/Tygerberg	1	R7 829 205.30
IdasValley clinic	1	R45 000.00
False Bay	1	R200 000.00
Paarl	1	R220 000.00

Eastern Cape Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

Financial Year	Amount Claimed	Amount paid
2011/2012	R331 728 678.64	R25 336 038.35
2012/2013	R393 108 094.28	R44 743 495.84
2013/2014	R198 207 500.00	R49 513 I08.93
2014/2015	Information not furnished	Information not furnished
Since 1 April 2015	R2 304 490 306.10	R147 861 438.84

(2) The Eastern Cape Department of Health does not allocate a budget for legal claims settlements, however when a settlement obligation arises from a medico legal claim, funds are reprioritized from within the departmental allocation to pay for such obligation.

(3) In the Eastern Cape, for both years, the 5 most common complaints for which compensation was claimed were:

• Obstetrics and gynaecology;

• Paediatrics;

• Orthopaedics;

• Trauma; and

• Family medicine.

(4) The top 10 litigated hospitals in the Eastern Cape and corresponding claims paid in 20 14/ 15 is presented in the table below as follows:

NO	NAME OF INSTITUTION	NUMBER OF CLAIMS 2014/15	AMOUNTS CLAIMED (not finalised) these matters are still active and pending, as they are not settled)	AMOUNTS PAID
1	Butterworth Hospital	86	R278 042 265.00	RO.OO
2	Frere Hospital	56	Rl87 245 594.10	RO.OO
3	Cecilia Makiwane Hospital	41	R88 572 625.00	RO.OO
4	Dora Nginza Hospital	39	R193 951 117.00	RO.OO
5	Mthatha General Hospital	48	R217 625 555.44	RO.OO
6	All Saints Hospital	19	R171 363 625.00	RO.OO
7	Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital	32	R123 279 284.00	R8 000 000.00
8	Bedford Orthopaedic Hospital	14	R5 425 000.00	RO.OO
9	St Barnabas Hospital	13	R45 050 000.00	RO.OO
10	Livingstone Hospital	12	R20 30I 325.52	RO.OO

1. The following interventions are being implemented in the Eastern Cape to address the high number of medico legal claims in the province:

• The department held a medico legal summit and invited all affected role players to look at ways of managing medical litigations in the province;

• The department is finalizing the appointment of the Medical Ombudsman for the Province;

• The department is also appointing a panel of medical legal experts to assist with preparation for the cases before they appear in court, and in same terms strengthening its legal representation; and

• The department is continuously strengthening the quality of health care services and ensuring adequate retention of patient records; including direct interventions focused specifically in management of medico legal trends.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

Financial Year	No of new matters received	Amount Claimed	No of matters settled	Amount paid
2011/2012	81	R326 342 322.68	30	R41 357 533.80
2012/2013	165	R992 272 280.20	28	R49 400 941.94
2013/2014	309	R1 596 517 823.74	49	R123 885 303.21
2014/2015	404	R3 046 136 920.80	61	R212 851 030.87
2015/2016 (as at 11 September 2015)	194	R1 456 528 457.00	17	R68 852 267.54

(2) The Department has not budgeted for litigation matters, as it is difficult to predict possible liabilities.

(3)

Year	Top 5 most common
2013-14	Obstetrics and gynaecology Paediatrics Surgery Orthopaedics Misdiagnosis
2014-15	Obstetrics and gynaecology Paediatrics Surgery Orthopaedics General (refers to claims to cover non medical errors resulting in litigation against the Department ranging from maintenance, security & operational issues)

(4)

District	Hospital	No. of claims 2014/15	Amounts paid
eThekwini District	Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital	121
	Addington Hospital	77
	King Edward VIII Hospital	69
Amajuba District	Mahatma Ghandi Memorial Hospital	69
	Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital	68
	Inkosi Luthuli Central Hospital	34
	Total amount paid for eThekwini District		R85 704 607.21
uMgungundlovu District	Edendale Hospital	44
	Northdale Hospital	44
	Total amount paid for uMgungundlovu District		R10 796 165.80
Ugu District	Port Shepstone Hospital	34
	Total amount paid for Ugu District		R1 375 000.00
Amajuba District	Madadeni Hospital	34	RO.OO
	Total amount paid for Amajuba District		R67 714.83

The Department is planning a Medico-Legal Summit to discuss and address the Medical negligence claims in the Province.

Mpumalanga Department of Health

(1) (a) and (b) (ii)

The following table represents the amounts claimed for medical negligence:

Financial Year	Amount Claimed for medical negligence
2011/2012	R131 538 785.00
2012/2013	R93 194 265.00
2013/2014	R95 375 306.00
2014/2015	R 562 210 541.00
April 2015 to June 2015	R130 536 500
TOTAL	R1 012 855 397.00

(b) The amounts paid out for claimed medical negligence, in Mpumalanga is listed as follows:

(aaa) During the 2011/12 financial year, a total number of eight (8) medical negligence claims were paid at a cost of R5 056 370.00.

(bbb) During the 2012/13 financial year, a total number of three (3) medical negligence claims were paid at a cost of R220 000.00.

(ccc) During the 2013/14 financial year, a total number of nine (9) medical negligence claims were paid at a cost of R44 193 741.66.

(ddd) During the 2014/15 financial year, a total number of five (5) medical negligence claims were paid at a cost of R2 773 768.00

(bb) For the period April 2015 to August 2015, the department has paid three (3) medical negligence claims at a cost of R10 099 248.63.

(2) The Mpumalanga Department of Health has been allocated with a budget of R22 212 000.00 for claims against the state and R34 737 000 for legal fees, that are paid to state attorneys and private attorneys.

(3) The most common complaints in Mpumalanga for which compensation was claimed in 2013/14 and 2014/15 financial years, were obstetric cases due to birth injuries where period of labour has been prolonged and resulted in the child suffering from cerebral palsy and orthopaedic cases as a result of motor vehicle accidents.

(4) (a) The Top Ten hospitals in Mpumalanga with highest claims in 2014/15, are:

• Tinswalo Hospital

• Matikwana Hospi

• Themba Hospital

• Mapulaneng

• KwaMhlanga Hospital

• Witbank Hospital

• Rob Ferreira Hospital

• Shongwe Hospital

• Sabie Hospital

• Evander Hospital

(i) Number of claims made against them

• Tinswalo Hospital	13
• Matikwane Hospital	13
• Themba Hospital	12
• Mapulaneng Hospital	07
• KwaMhlanga Hospital	04
• Witbank Hospital	04
• Rob Ferreira Hospital	04
• Shongwe Hospitals	03
•-- Sabie Hospital -­	03
• Evander Hospital	02

(ii) Total amount paid out of each specified claim in 2014/15

• Tinswalo Hospital None

• Matikwane Hospital None

• Themba Hospital None

• Mapulaneng Hospital None

• Kwa Mhlanga Hospital R430 000.00

• Witbank Hospital R2 411 432.00

• Rob Ferreira Hospital None

• Shongwe Hospitals None

• Sabie Hospital None

• Evander Hospital None

Free State Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

	CLAIMED	PAID OUT
2011-12	R39 201 030.30	R5 473 097.00
2012-13	R145 406 892.00	R2 935 534.00
2013-14	R177 408 892.65	R673 373.00
2014-15	R322 449 863.07	R15 090 000.00
2015-	R259 771 498.92	R12 725 427.59

(2) R10 000 000.00 was budgeted for the 2015/2016 financial year.

(3)

Year	Top 5 most common
2013-14	Cerebral Palsy Botched Operations Misdiagnosis leading to complications Perforation of uterus during delivery
2014-15	Cerebral Palsy Botched Operations Misdiagnosis leading to complications Perforation of uterus during delivery

(4)

Hospital	Number of claims
Pelonomi Hospital	9
Bongani Hospital	8
Thebe	5
Universitas	4
Fezi Ngubentombi	3
Boitumelo	3
Manapo	2
Elizabeth Ross	2
Botshabelo	1

No payments have been made yet, all matters still pending.

(5) A medico legal expert panel, consisting of medical doctors from various medical disciplines has been appointed. One of their responsibilities is to draft a Litigation Prevention Strategy, the strategy is still a in a draft format.

Limpopo Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

	CLAIMED	PAID OUT
2011-12	R161 228 792.79	R11 394 831.08
2012-13	R130 155 032.44	R4 114 165.00
2013-14	R299 181 456.14	R22 033 040.50
2014-15	R656 940 666.77	R31 364 817.07

1. The budget and revenue unit make availability of the funds for payments on claims against the State and litigation matters.

1. The most common complaints that the department receives:

• Loss of a child during labour/delivery
• Foreign objects left inside the patients after the operation
• Cerebral palsy
• Maternal death
• Amputations

1. (a) The Limpopo province is divided is divide into 5(five) districts namely; Mopani, Capricorn, Waterberg, Sekhukhune & Vhembe District. The hospitals that have a large number of cases are as follows:

• Philadelphia
• Polokwane
• Maphutha Malatji
• Mankweng
• Nkhensani
• Sekororo
• Seshego
• Malamulele
• Tshilidzini
• Letaba

 

(b) (i) This are the claims that have been made against each hospital for the financial year 2014/15 are:

• Philadelphia = 12
• Polokwane = 12
• Mapjutha Malatji= 09
• Mankweng = 08
• Nkhensani = 07
• Sekororo = 06
• Seshego = 04
• Malamulele = 04
• Tshilidzini = 03
• Letaba = 03

 

(ii) For the financial year 2014/2015 the Department has paid R23 805 262.72

1. In respect of Limpopo Province the Department of Health has established a specialized unit which is the Medico Legal unit separate from the Legal Services unit which functions includes:

• Identification of overt claims, potential claims and monitoring of medical negligence cases,
• Consultation with state attorney,
• Rebuttal of claims,
• Settlement of claims and
• Closure of cases.

North West Department of Health

1. (a) and (b) (ii)

	CLAIMED	PAID OUT
2011-12	R733 602.57	R753 602.57
2012-13	R144 470 255.72	R7 899 232.50
2013-14	R207 601 325.00	R12 959 528.18
2014-15	R499 577 250.00	R19 978 582.00
Since April 2015	R142 886 250.00	Nil

(2) R5 409 525.00

(3) Most common complaint that the Department receives:

Obstetric complications

END.