20 April 2006
Criminal charges have been laid against five Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
employees as the Gauteng Department of Health moves to clamp down on irregular
practices in hospitals.
The employees have also been suspended with immediate effect. This follows a
preliminary investigation into alleged irregularities committed by officials
and service providers at the hospital. The investigation started in December
last year and a preliminary report was handed to the Department this week.
The report indicated that some officials in the hospitalâs procurement
department conducted themselves irregularly by:
* Ordering goods and services without following procurement procedures
* Causing payment for goods and services to be processed without proof of
delivery. In some instances payment was processed even before delivery
occurred
* Authorising procurement of goods and services unrelated to their line
functions or departments
* Conducting regular business with suppliers who did not have a service level
agreement with the hospital.
The losses suffered by the hospital as a result of these activities have as
yet not been established as the investigation has not yet been completed. In
another unrelated case an employee of Wits Dental School was arrested and
appeared in court on allegations of fraud and corruption.
Disciplinary action was taken against the employee and the official was
found guilty and dismissed. An appeal against the decision of the disciplinary
committee has been lodged and the decision of the appeal committee is
awaited.
It has been estimated that the dental school suffered a loss of more than
R5.2 million as a result of fraud and corruption.
The MEC for Health Mr Brian Hlongwa has instructed that tough action be
taken to restore discipline in all health facilities.
âIt is not enough simply to lay criminal charges and take disciplinary
action against people involved in acts of wanton crime in our facilities. We
will also be taking action to recover the lost money from the guilty
individuals. With the help of law enforcement agencies and the justice system
we will not hesitate to attach the assets of anyone found guilty including
freezing their pension payouts if they are our employees.
âFinancial irregularities in the public health sector would not be tolerated
because it compromises the quality of health care received by patients,â the
MEC said.
The Department would like to point out that it will not be commenting
further on these matters until all investigations have been completed.
Enquiries:
Simon Zwane
Tel: (011) 355 3642
Cell: 082 551 9892
Issued by: Department of Health, Gauteng Provincial Government
20 April 2006
