MDANTSANE- A mother from Qonce says she is still waiting for justice and support from the Eastern Cape Department of Health 15 years after her daughter allegedly suffered severe brain damage during birth at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
Democratic Alliance(DA) Eastern Cape Shadow MEC for Health Jane Cowley, has now written to Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa demanding answers over the prolonged delay in resolving the matter.
Cowley said the case highlighted the ongoing failures within the province’s healthcare and medico-legal systems.
Lwavela Ngalo was born at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in October 2011. According to her mother, Gcobisa Ngalo she was allegedly left unattended during labour, resulting in the baby being deprived of oxygen.
The child reportedly suffered multiple seizures after birth and now lives with severe cerebral palsy.
She cannot walk, talk, sit or eat without assistance and requires around-the-clock care.Cowley said Ngalo had met with officials from the Department of Health, the Medico-Legal Unit and the Office of the Premier on several occasions in 2021.
“At the final meeting, officials allegedly refused to disclose the settlement terms because she had brought a legal professional with her to explain the agreement in plain language,” Cowley said.
The family’s struggle has continued despite repeated promises of assistance.Last September, Ngalo was advised to submit written motivations to the Medico-Legal Unit outlining the support she required. By January this year, she had allegedly still not received any response.
“When she followed up, she was told the unit was still awaiting input from the Department of Health and the Office of the Premier,” Cowley said.
Furthmore Ngalo currently survives under difficult financial circumstances in Qonce while her daughter has been placed in a state care facility in Gqeberha, making visits costly and emotionally draining.
Cowley criticised what she described as the department’s inability to resolve legitimate medico-legal claims while the province’s healthcare system continued to buckle under mounting liabilities.
In addition the Eastern Cape Department of Health is currently facing contingent medico-legal liabilities estimated at about R23.3 billion, much of it linked to cerebral palsy claims allegedly arising from negligence during childbirth.
Cowley said the department had repeatedly promised reforms, including improved clinical care at high-risk hospitals and the establishment of specialised medico-legal structures, yet families were still being left without closure.
“Instead of creating a proper risk-mitigation fund, successful claims are paid from operational budgets, placing hospitals, clinics, ambulances and frontline services under further strain,” she said.
She contrasted the situation with the Western Cape, where the provincial government has implemented a risk-mitigation mechanism aimed at shielding healthcare services from the financial impact of successful claims.
Cowley called on Mabuyane and Capa to urgently intervene and provide Ngalo with a written response and clear timelines for the finalisation of the matter.
“The Eastern Cape cannot continue treating medico-legal failures as a paperwork issue while families live with the consequences for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Photograph: Supplied
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