Slow uptake of R2m case management system
Only two of the nine provinces are using a system the government spent close to R2m on to help provincial Health Departments with the case management of medico-legal claims.
A Cape Times report says this was according to a parliamentary reply from the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi following questions by DA MP Michele Clarke.
The Minister said they paid R1 826 455 for the development and maintenance of the case management system. He noted that the system picks up the possible duplication of fraudulent medico-legal cases, the number of cases per hospital and notifications on cases coming to trial each month.
However, he said of the nine provinces in the country, only eight participated in the transversal tender to appoint the service provider, with the exception of the Western Cape, and only two provinces used the system.
‘To date, the system has been rolled out in five provinces – KZN, Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Gauteng. However, the system is not actively used in those provinces where it has been rolled out save for KZN and Free State.’
The Minister noted the total contingent liability of the active cases was over R108bn.
According to the Minister, three service providers appointed to assist the department in dealing with medico-legal claims also allegedly filed 58 fraudulent claims.
‘The matters have not yet been finalised by the courts. Since the signing of the National Proclamation by the President, the forensic reports from the Service Providers appointed by the department have been provided to the Special Investigating Unit to form the basis of their investigations.’
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
