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Since the beginning of 2023, the Gauteng Department of Health (GDH) recorded 9,390 serious adverse events (SAEs) at hospitals and clinics.

Serious adverse events are abnormal medical outcomes from medical procedures or the administration of pharmaceuticals that lead to birth defects, disability, prolonged hospitalisation and death.

Health and Wellness Member of the Executive Council (MEC) Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has been under pressure to respond after the department came under fire in recent weeks regarding patient care, reported The Citizen.

Now the GDH is planning to implement new prevention methods to thwart these unwanted results at state facilities. This includes a five-point plan that the MEC hopes will better the staff and procedures, such as:

• Reporting all SAEs within 24 hours and following through with a thorough investigation.
• Specialised training for officials and managers to improve the prevention and reporting of SAEs.
• Thorough self-assessments by facility management to target risks and areas of improvement.
• Specialist governance structures that focus on learning, support and decision-making.
• Continuous monitoring and evaluation of a quality improvement implementation plan.

The MEC says they are “dedicated to implementing the recommendations from investigations to improve safety protocols across our facilities,” adding that as part of their commitment to quality improvement, they have already taken disciplinary action against 29 officials from 10 health facilities.

Democratic Alliance Shadow MEC for Health, Jack Bloom, told The Citizen that a lack of consequence management, systemic hospital issues, and questionable leadership contributed to the high rate of serious adverse events, providing a breakdown of the facilities most affected.

While the measures announced by the MEC are much-needed, Bloom questioned why the number of issues kept increasing.

Noting SAE numbers from 2019, 2020 and 2021, Bloom told The Citizen “the trend was ominous” as the numbers were 4 170, 4 701 and 6 910 for those three consecutive years.

The numbers for the flagship Academic facilities are as follows, according to Bloom: Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital recorded 1,169 SAEs; George Mukhari Academic Hospital had 613; Steve Biko Academic Hospital had 552; and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital recorded 447.

Tertiary facilities Tembisa, Kalafong and Helen Joseph Hospitals recorded a combined 1,497 SAEs, while the remainder were reported at the regional and district levels.

“Notably concerning are the 452 SAEs reported at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital,” stated Bloom.

Bloom also questioned why disciplinary figures were reported for only 10 of the 37 facilities under the department’s guidance, asking, “Does that mean there was no disciplinary action at the other 27 facilities?”

Eish, MECs, you have a lot of work to do.

[source:citizen]