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...

My late mother, Helen, 91, died on July 7, 2017 at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.   She was admitted to the hospital’s Trauma Unit on July 6 after falling at home. It was discovered she broke her femur. Despite her age, she was fit to be candidate for surgery the following day as part of a world-wide trial. But overnight her breathing worsened and we were summoned to the hospital. But beyond the doctor’s immediate concern for her breathing, her life was not in imminent danger. She was stable and breathing unaided, on morphine for pain, but unconscious.   One of my sisters remained with her until midday and later reported that according to the doctors, she was “holding her own” and could recover.    However, unbeknown to us, during the second half of July 7 her condition worsened. On visiting her that evening during visiting hours, we were shocked to discover her on life support (intubated), comatose and her condition very serious. We had not been n...