Mpumalanga’s Health Department faces medical negligence claims of more than R7.6bn, of which more than 40% centre on children allegedly born with cerebral palsy. A Business Day report says this figure represents more than half of its budget allocation for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which stands at R13.3bn.

The figures cast the spotlight on the province’s weak public health service, which has seen its institutional maternal mortality ratio deteriorate in the past four years from 108 per 100 000 live births in 2014-15 to 120 per 100 000 in 2017-18. In Italy the ratio was four per 100 000 live births in 2015.

Parliament’s Health Committee has asked provincial departments to report on the state of their hospital services. Last week Gauteng and Western Cape briefed MPs and both provinces highlighted the growing pressure they faced to provide service. Yesterday it was the turn of Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape.

Mpumalanga’s head of health said the province faced 158 medico-legal claims of R3.3bn, which related to obstetrics and gynaecology cases. ‘A single claim can cost between R12m and R40m,’ she said. There were also many claims relating to orthopaedic cases, partly because of the province’s shortage of orthopaedic specialists, she added.

The Eastern Cape faces claims of R24.3bn, according to documents presented to the committee. It has to date paid out R1.1bn and R433m in legal fees.

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