Suspended Tembisa Hospital CEO Dr Lekopane Mogaladi has hauled health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to court in a bid to force him to appoint an independent tribunal to oversee his appeal against a damning report by the health ombudsman.
Health ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba found that the care rendered to patient Shonisani Lethole at Tembisa Hospital in June last year was not only substandard but also negligent and recommended that disciplinary action be taken against Mogaladi.
Lethole had tweeted to Mkhize about his situation before he died, leading to the investigation and subsequent report by Makgoba.
In an affidavit, which forms part of his court papers filed before the High Court in Johannesburg last week, Mogaladi said he had not heard anything from Mkhize despite having lodged an appeal against the report in February.
Mogaladi said he was launching the application in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act to compel Mkhize to appoint a tribunal to oversee his appeal against Makgoba's findings, which he did not agree with.
He also argued that Makgoba made unreasonable and irrational findings and recommendations. Mogaladi said he was not given a fair hearing as he was not allowed to interview witnesses who gave adverse evidence against him and his colleagues.
Makgoba found that Lethole had not been fed for more than 100 hours while at Tembisa Hospital.
Makgoba also found that the hospital should never have been designated a Covid-19 hospital, and that disciplinary action must be taken against those who he said misled the then MEC for health, Dr Bandile Masuku, about its readiness and the general state of the facility.
Mogaladi said it was a matter of public record that the Tembisa Hospital, which serves three million people, was under-resourced and underfunded.
"As a chief executive officer I do not deal with patients. There are clinicians who, on a daily basis, deal with and treat patients," Mogaladi said in court papers.
He said he was in charge of the overall administration and the running of the entire hospital and did not have any first-hand knowledge about the circumstances that led to Lethole's death.
"Such information as I gained after his unfortunate death, I did so from my colleagues and other staff members who had direct and indirect dealings with the patient," Mogaladi stated.
Health department spokesperson Popo Maja said Mkhzie would only be able to respond "as soon as he had obtained a legal opinion" on the matter.
Yesterday, Mogaladi said that he remained "deeply empathetic to the family and friends" of Lethole but wanted the truth and justice to prevail.
He said he had also approached the CCMA to challenge the advertisement of his position, which he described as "an illegal action by the department".
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