{"id":738155,"date":"2023-12-23T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=738155"},"modified":"2023-12-23T14:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-23T12:43:22","slug":"getting-sick-while-at-hospital-in-south-africa-what-the-law-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/738155\/getting-sick-while-at-hospital-in-south-africa-what-the-law-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting sick while at hospital in South Africa &#8211; what the law says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A top concern across healthcare facilities is the risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). These complications are acquired in a hospital or other healthcare facility and are caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/06-05-2022-who-launches-first-ever-global-report-on-infection-prevention-and-control\">WHO&#8217;s study<\/a> of patients in high-income countries found that 7% of acute-care patients develop an infection at least once during a hospital stay. Worryingly, South Africa (a&nbsp;low- and middle-income country) has a high prevalence of HAIs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Results of a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/joppp.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s40545-022-00500-5\">local study in 2022<\/a> show that the country&#8217;s HAI rate is 12.76%, and surgical-site infections make up more than 40% of all recorded HAIs. According to a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.samj.org.za\/index.php\/samj\/article\/view\/12838\/9107\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"http:\/\/www.samj.org.za\/index.php\/samj\/article\/view\/12838\/9107\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> published in the South African Medical Journal, contracting a HAI in the country increases the risk of death by 2 &#8211; 11%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HAIs are especially dangerous for infants, as they are immunocompromised. A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com\/content\/7\/1\/e002056\">2023 study<\/a> at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town found that the prevalence of HAIs among infants weighing less than 1.5kgs is much higher &#8211; sitting at 20%. The mortality in low-resourced settings can be as high as 70%. . <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to DSC Attorneys, if the proper preventative measures were not taken by the hospitals, they can be held liable for these infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What causes HAIs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Important to note is that HAIs are not always the result of negligence &#8211; however substandard care by facilities can exacerbate the chances of infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The three most common organisms that are responsible for HAIs are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)&nbsp;&#8211; carried on the skin and can be introduced into the body through cuts or punctures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clostridium difficile (C. diff, C. difficile)&nbsp;&#8211; transmitted from person to person by spores.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE)&nbsp;&#8211; carried on the skin and in the human gut.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In South Africa, hospitals often face issues such as overcrowding, shortage of water and staff, and other deficiencies. These problems can lead to inadequate care which in turn increases the risk of HAIs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Factors that exacerbate the risk are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Invasive medical procedures (catheters, intubation and IVs);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sepsis developing in post-operative patients at their wound site;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High-risk burn patients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Failure to follow health and safety regulations;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inadequate equipment sterilisation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extended hospital stays (especially in poor conditions);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High-risk children, babies, the elderly and immunocompromised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Legal liabilities and claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Hospitals have a legal obligation to ensure reasonable measures are taken to prevent hospital-acquired infections. If substandard or negligent care led to you or a loved one contracting an infection while in hospital, you may be able to claim compensation,&#8221; said DSC Attorneys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is possible that the hospital could be held liable for medical malpractice if the following led to an infection: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Poor management; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clerical errors; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improperly performed medical procedures; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of health and safety adherence; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poor hygiene or sterilisation; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other negligent medical care.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To have a successful medical malpractice claim related to a HAI, you must prove that negligence took place and that it led to the infection,&#8221; the firm said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To substantiate the claim, you must collect evidence in the form of doctors\u2019 notes and medical records, witness statements and expert testimony from independent medical professionals,&#8221; it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/738109\/why-doctors-in-south-africa-would-rather-shut-their-doors-than-suffer-the-nhi\/\">Why doctors in South Africa would rather shut their doors than suffer the NHI<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a country that has a high rate of hospital-acquired infections, can a patient hold the hospital liable for the infection? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":738199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18999,817],"class_list":["post-738155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-hospital","tag-legal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738155"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":739643,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738155\/revisions\/739643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}