Health Minister Joe Phaahla has pledged national support for the ailing Eastern Cape health department.
Pledging support from a national level, Health Minister Joe Phaahla has promised to"work together" to help the cash-strapped Eastern Cape health department. In June, outgoing health ombudsman, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, described the provincial health department as an embarrassment. In February, it was granted a reprieve after Judge Robert Griffiths in the Eastern Cape High Court in Bhisho ruled that it no longer had to make upfront lump sum payments in medical negligence claims.The department approached the court after it found itself embroiled in a R35.4-million lawsuit, instituted by the parents of a baby who developed cerebral palsy due to the alleged negligence by medical staff at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in 2018.