The Gauteng Department of Health has taken strong measures to reduce cases of medical negligence at its facilities and to improve the quality of care.
One of these measures is the implementation of a turnaround strategy which involves the recruitment and continuous training of health professionals as well as formation of committees that will assist in supporting staff as well as monitoring and evaluation of all improvement initiatives.
The introduction of the National Health Insurance will also boost this effort and further strengthen the delivery of quality healthcare.
Annually the department sets aside a contingency budget to deal with possible lawsuits therefore medical negligence payments will not affect service delivery.
The department views negligence amongst its staff very seriously. It took disciplinary action against 26 employees in the past two years. This resulted in the dismissal of two doctors and a nurse.
Enquiries:
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892
Department aims to improve Healthcare Services
Province
