Parliament - The high number of lawsuits filed against the State and private practioners could destroy the healthcare system in South Africa, the country's Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Thursday.
"The litigation the country is experiencing is grossly abnormal," Motsoaledi said while speaking in the National Assembly.
The minister said it was not just state hospitals which were targeted, but that doctors in the private sector were forced to close their offices.
Motsoaledi said the only winners were lawyers and not patients.
"The same lawyers bankrupted the Road Accident Fund. Now that the Road Accident Fund law has changed they've rushed into hospitals and clinics," he said.
Motsoaledi said they were meeting the department of justice and other stakeholders to find a solution to the problem.
"I don't want people to celebrate because it's very destructive. It will destroy the healthcare system."