The SA Medical Association has revived its call for specialised medical courts to deal with medico-legal cases.

Paediatric surgeon Peter Beale is facing three counts of murder for allegedly performing unnecessary, and ultimately fatal surgeries on children for financial gain.

EWN reports that chair of Sama's Human Rights, Law & Ethics Committee, Dr Mark Human, said expert opinion was needed in such cases.

'When things go wrong, which they do sometimes in surgeries, it's a very complex issue and it's not an issue that someone from a prosecuting authority can begin to comprehend,' said Human.

'It's a hugely complex thing, and it's been mooted for a long time that we probably need some kind of specialised medical court to deal with these kinds of things.'

In 2019, Beale was charged with culpable homicide over the death of a 10-year-old boy following surgery to treat acid reflux.

That was changed to murder last January, and an additional charge of culpable homicide was added to his indictment over the death of a 21-month-old girl following the same surgery.

Beale made another appearance in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) on Wednesday, where several new developments in the case were revealed. 

The charge against Beale over the 21-month-old’s death has now been changed to murder. He is also being charged with the murder of a third child, a three-year-old boy.

Full EWN report