Thomas Johnson - Medical Blog

This is a response to Daily Maverick section editor Mark Heywood's article about the Western Cape Health Department's (WCHD) first clean audit . In it he interviews head of department Dr Beth Engelbrecht. The pedant in me corrects Heywood where he mentions "superintendent-general" Beth Engelbrecht.   The correct title is "head of department". (Hospital "CEO" replaces "superintendent".) Many people, especially politicians, bureaucrats and media, make too much of clean audits . There's ignorance and misinformation about financial year-end audits. The objective of an audit is to express an opinion on the financial statements. It's not to express an opinion on management's decision-making prerogatives, service delivery or any other aspect, as Engelbrecht and Heywood believe. I assume the WCHD previously received "[financially] unqualified audits with findings on "reporting on material [significant] performan...

Rot in the woodpile   On 1 October 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (HSACF).  The noble objectives are to “fight against fraud and corruption in the health sector who will together prevent, detect and prosecute fraud and corruption”.  Among its members are the National Prosecutions Authority, SA Police Service, Special Investigations Unit and Health Professions Council (HPCSA). However, already there’s rot in the anti-corruption woodpile.   Putting aside that the NPA is in a continual state of paralysis, what Sunday Times columnist Barney Mthombothi called “chaos and incompetence” among his severe criticism of Ramaphosa (18/08/2019).   Ditto for SAPS and HPCSA, which itself is touched by the stink of corruption. In 2015 the minister of health said the HPCSA is “in a state of dysfunction”.  The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating bribes for medical registrations and exam passes t...

In 2015 the minister of health found the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) is “in a state of dysfunction”. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating staff who allegedly took bribes for medical registrations and exam passes. Whistleblowers reported it. Dr Wouter Basson won related cases against the HPCSA’s disciplinary committees in the Gauteng High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal for bias and conflict of interest.   Two members of the committee of the inquiry into complaints about his apartheid-era work were among those who had brought charges against him for.   Recently I laid charges against the HPCSA and members of its Third Preliminary Committee of Inquiry.   A member of the committee had a prior and ongoing business relationship with one of the respondents at the time the case was heard in November and May 2019.   That was a significant factor in the miscarriage of justice (see in this blog).   The committee was biased in favo...