Thomas Johnson - Medical Blog

Bhekikisa Centre for Health Journalism has again run an article about the huge medical negligence claims against the state. And again it's been picked up by other media, Daily Maverick and New24 among them.  President Cyril Ramaphosa tasked the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to investigate the large medical negligence claims against provincial health departments in the country. The investigation, which is not yet complete, is concentrating on alleged fictitious medical claims including by patients who never made them.  The health department has long complained negligence claims are the result of touting by lawyers and the legal profession is abusing the system. But seldom if ever has it admitted they're the result of a dysfunctional and broken public health system. Bhekikisa accepted government's tendentious claim it's mostly the result of "dodgy lawyers", "touting" and allegedly "stolen medical records".  This makes me really angry. Now...

 Auditor-general of South Africa Tsakani Maluleke recently released the results of 2023/24 municipal audits. Only 34 municipalities received a clean audit. Clean audit is an SA public audit definition of: financially unqualified and full compliance with legislation (mainly but not exclusively PFMA, MFMA and Treasury regulations) and auditee's ie client's own performance objectives. Incidentally, on the objectives, the AG takes the client's word for their completion or not; it's a tick-box exercise for AG as most of auditing is.  When Helen "Godzille" Zille was Western Cape premier she railed against audits as being an obstacle to efficient administration (really). She used the example of missing library books in the AG's audit of the WC Library department's financials. This was ignorant nonsense. Government departments, politicians and media get in a froth about "clean audits". When government audit results are released, media and politicians...

Beth Engelbrecht was head of Western Cape Health Department (WCHD) from 2014 to 2020. Her predecessor Craig Househam ran the department from the late 90s. She was succeeded by Keith Cloete from 1 April 2020.  Engelbrecht's departure was a quiet affair. There was a press briefing January 2020 where Cloete was introduced as her successor (at the Western Cape Government's request, she remained to assist him with the COVID pandemic) but no articles in mainstream media about her tenure. The briefing concentrated on Cloete's and department's priorities.  The absence of press coverage was odd because she held a very important post. Compare that to the fulsome articles when Groote Schuur Hospital CEO Bhavna Patel retired in 2024 and about Eastern Cape health head Rolene Wagner's suspension and reinstatement. WCHD's Jonga Magazine (issue 24, 17 March 2020) ran a farewell message from Engelbrecht in which she wished Cloete well and thanked the department, MEC Nomafrench M...

Groote Schuur Hospital, Western Cape Health Department and NPA cover up death of patient Groote Schuur Hospital's CEO Dr Bhavna Patel retired after 13 years. A public health specialist, she's credited with improvements to the hospital. That may be true. But there's a cold, cynical side to Patel that the fulsome news reports (IOL, News24) do not speak about. Patel retired leaving controversy behind that to an extent insulates the hospital and Western Cape Health Department (WCHD) from the fallout. This is the kind of story, in general and what follows in particular, the media do not publish. In 2017 Patel, Trauma Centre head Andrew Nicol, senior medical officer Ahmed Al Sayari, registrar Marcelle Crowther, junior officer (27-year-old) Mikhail Botha, registrar Mohammed Mayet, and WCHD head Beth Engelbrecht were variously accused of assault, culpable homicide, fraud and violations of national and provincial health laws and policies for the death of a 91-year-old patient on Jul...