President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe allegations of corruption and maladministration at national and provincial health departments.

The SIU said on Monday the proclamation and investigations were intended to focus on the billions in medical negligence claims from health facilities.

The terms of reference include serious maladministration, improper or unlawful conduct and unlawful or negligent loss of public money.

The wide scope of the proclamation gives the SIU the power to investigate people and contracts that took place between 1 January 2013 and 22 July 2022, the date of the proclamation, or which took place prior to 1 January 2013, or after the date of publication of this proclamation. 

National health department spokesperson, Doctor Tshwale, said the department welcomed the proclamation because the medical negligence claims by legal firms were so huge they were crippling its budget. 

"The department ends up with no money at all," he said.  

He added that the department wanted the SIU to check the correct amounts were being claimed and that claims were true. 

Tshwale said the amounts were so high that sometimes the department could not afford to pay all claims in the same year, and this impacted the following year's budget badly. 

At the same time, a programme is under way to address medical negligence and curb it.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla warned in May that medico-legal claims might collapse health services. 

"We also need to deal with unscrupulous legal firms," he told the National Assembly during his budget vote speech in May. 

Phaahla said the department wanted to reduce its liability by 80% by next year, with the help of forensic investigations and case management. 

He added some legal firms have already been referred to the SIU.

The SA Medico-Legal Association said in a newsletter around 50% of medico-legal claims was due to cerebral palsy. 

In May, former state attorney for a Gauteng health MEC, her sister, another woman, and a private company were ordered to pay back more than R4-million allegedly fraudulently paid out under the guise of it being related to medical negligence claims for children born with cerebral palsy.