Lawyers for the Eastern Cape Department of Health are preparing an urgent application to stop millions of rands in lump sum payouts.
The spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Treasury, Pumelele Godongwana, said the provincial government is implementing a multipronged strategy to “arrest the problem” that is brought about by medico-legal claims. Kupelo confirmed that this was the plan and said that it was a collective effort. He said it was “impossible” for the health department to budget for these medico-legal claims as they amounted to irregular spending.
She said the financial status of the department was no longer sustainable and the collapse of the entire department is inevitable. While the Eastern Cape MEC for Health, Nomakhosazana Meth, this week announced that the department was embarking on a recruitment drive, the latest available figures are that specialist vacancy rates at two of the province’s tertiary hospitals, Frere and Livingstone, were 65.6% and 44.8%, respectively. In May, medical officer vacancy rates at Dora Nginza Mental Health Unit and Fort England Hospital stood at 50% and 60%, respectively.
“We are continuously working towards addressing medico-legal claims, but we cannot put the filling of vacancies on hold… because when you have a staff shortage, those who are at work will be overworked, burnt out and stale, which will inevitably lead to mistakes. That is just logic.”
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