Supreme Court demands detailed action plan
The Limpopo High Court has ordered the Limpopo District Department of Health and the Ndlovu Care Group to return to the negotiating table and work out a detailed takeover plan for the patients.
The Ndlovu Care Group took the provincial health ministries, Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, to court after announcing it would end its support for NGOs. This affects over 3000 patients in the group’s various clinics.
Patients should use state facilities for cost reasons
The ministry has announced that it will no longer support NGOs with aid money. They want to encourage patients to go to state hospitals to receive treatment.
Ramathuba stated that the contract with NGOs would cost the ministry Rs 27 crore annually, while they would spend Rs 3800 per patient.
South African Human Rights Commission welcomes the decision
The court’s order to return to the negotiating table is seen as a major success. The ministry is now forced to draw up a well thought-out and feasible takeover plan, which must ensure that the standards that Ndlovu has exemplified are set.
You now have three months to draw up the conditions and timetable for the takeover. This must then be resubmitted to the court for review.
The South African Human Rights Commission welcomes this approach. It was appointed by the court to moderate the mediation process between the two parties. The first meeting has already been scheduled for May 7.
Second “Life Esidimeni” must be prevented at all costs
The primary goal is to prevent a second “Life Esidimeni” crisis. Almost 100 patients died here in 2016, having been transferred from a clinic in Johannesburg to several poorly equipped clinics due to cost-cutting measures. The transfer of patients took place under chaotic circumstances. STERN reported on this: There was not enough food and drink for seriously ill patients. The transportation was carried out in off-road vehicles with an open loading area, like at a “cattle auction”. The background to this was the decision by the Gauteng health authorities to terminate their contract with Life Esidimeni Hospital for cost reasons. More than 1300 patients then had to be transferred to other facilities. Their relatives were often not notified and were also not informed in the event of death.
A catastrophe of this magnitude should be prevented at all costs.
Read more about the court hearing on May 3:
Read background information on the “Life Esidimeni” crisis:
