Healthcare hotline complaints surge after Life Esidimeni tragedy
The Office of Health Standards Compliance had seen a surge in complaints to its consumer hotline in the wake of the Life Esidimeni tragedy, it told Parliament on Wednesday. The statutory body is responsible for safeguarding standards at health facilities. It inspects hospitals and clinics and started a call centre in November 2016 for the public to lodge complaints. CEO Siphiwe Mndaweni, appointed in November, said the publicity around the Life Esidimeni scandal had raised the visibility of the office and the health ombudsman and "drastically increased" the number of complaints received by the agency. "We have seen an increase in the volume and scope [of complaints], which signals a potential increase in litigation," she told the portfolio committee on health during a briefing on the office’s performance plan. The office had received 730 complaints about public and private sector establishments between November 2016 to the end of March 2017. It now received an average of 300 complai...
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