CAPE TOWN - The Gauteng Provincial Government has threatened to take Independent Media to court.
This follows the media house’s expose of negligent and unacceptable conditions to which patients are exposed at some Gauteng hospitals.
The announcement follows Independent Media’s revelations of gross medical negligence at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, that allegedly resulted in the death of a patient which could have been avoided.
In its statement, the GP government said it wanted to protect the integrity of all government officials as well as that of public institutions. It did not mention anything regarding the Independent Media’s expose on the poor treatment at some hospitals.
Independent Media chairperson Dr Iqbal Survé ,said it was clear that the province did not care about the wellbeing of its patients.
“Clearly their priority is their image, public relations. If they cared about patients, they would have been trying to do something about what we have exposed.”
The statement also does not indicate if the government will consider investigating the matter.
“You really must be the most uncaring government in the world, when you are being told about the suffering of your citizens at your hospitals, and your first instinct is not to do something about that.
“Instead, they say they are taking us to court as a threat to stop us from speaking up when we discover and report wrongdoing by government institutions. Well, bring it on because that won’t work with Independent Media. We stand by our exposé,” said Survé.
Independent Media’s investigations unit has had sight of a report outlining gross medical negligence at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital that resulted in the death of a patient, which could have been avoided.
The report stated that all the different reports corroborated and strengthened the findings of the Health Ombud and Investigator that the patient’s care was not only substandard but was also negligent. While both the Health Ombud and investigator reported several findings of systems-related deficiencies, these were not sufficient to explain the extent and degree of substandard and negligent care provided.
Survé said the media had a responsibility to tell the truth about what was happening in the country including at some state hospitals, for those issues to be rectified for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
“If we as the media are threatened with court action when exposing the rot, how will ordinary citizens expose government wrongdoing if they see what is happening to us?
“ That will stop whistleblowers from coming forward because they will fear being taken to court by their own government, and the rot will continue unabated. In fact, we think that might be exactly what they want to happen.
Surve also commented on the apparent hostility with which the government dealt with Independent Media.
“ Independent Media is the only media house that the government wants to take to court. When other media houses expose government rot, the government listens and their matter is sometimes referred to investigative bodies like the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) or the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). However, if that’s the price we must pay, so be it, because we will continue to be the watchdog for the people,” he said.
Survé said the role of the media was not to protect the powerful, the role of the media was to protect the most vulnerable and to expose those that are the most powerful. “That’s what Independent Media is all about. See you in court, government.”
Cape Times