The Gauteng health department's smart card project has come under fire from the Democratic Alliance (DA), as the health MEC fails to indicate when the delayed project will be implemented.
In a statement, the DA's Jack Bloom said provincial health MEC Qedani Mahlangu needs to probe why the most expensive bid was chosen for the project.
Last year, the health department awarded the tender for the project to a KOPM Logistics-led consortium, at a cost of R609 million. The consortium included empowerment companies iNathi and Ideco, along with Sagem SA.
The aim of the project is for patients to be issued with health cards that store their medical records on an embedded smart chip. The cards are expected to improve the accuracy of patient records, speed up check-in times, and streamline the process of transferring patient information from hospitals to doctors and pharmacies. The Gauteng health department has put its hospital smart card project on hold since new health MEC Qedani Mahlangu took office.
“The fiasco of the stalled Gauteng heath smart card [project] deepens with the information that the KOPM Logistics consortium that won the contract was R169 million more expensive than the lowest short-listed tender,” said Bloom.
According to a written reply to questions posed to the MEC, KOPM Logistics was selected last year, at a price of R609 million. The second-lowest bid came from Lifesense Clinics, at a cost of R505 million, while PricewaterhouseCoopers consortium's bid came in at R440 million.
Mahlangu has defended the decision taken by the department, saying “KOPM was chosen because it offered the best overall solution to meet the needs of the department functionally and in accordance with evaluation done at the Gauteng Shared Services Centre".
Long wait ahead
The smart card project was piloted in January 2008 and was scheduled to end in March of the same year. The system was supposed to have been fully implemented in April 2008 and has been delayed several times.
The project will now be delayed indefinitely, as Mahlangu aims to implement recommendations made in the auditor-general's report in 2008. The department came under fire for overspending and for not following financial and management procedures.
Mahlangu noted that, in an effort to implement correct procedures and systems, all existing contracts would be placed under scrutiny. However, she gave no indication of when delayed projects would be implemented.
“All contracts are being reviewed; we will proceed with those that are in line with our mandate, those that are not will be terminated. We will defer implementation of those that are relevant, but not urgent,” she said.
Old delays
While Bloom welcomed the MEC's decision to review the contract, he called for a probe into the awarding of the tender. He added that the MEC's response, stating that KOPM was the best choice for the project, was not adequate. Bloom previously complained of the delay in the introduction of the smart cards.
“I don't buy this explanation, especially since KOPM has botched the proof-of-concept phase that has cost R37 million. I suspect there are lots more skeletons that will tumble out from the dismal era when former MEC Brian Hlongwa headed the Gauteng health department,” he said.
Hlongwa introduced the project in 2007, promising it would streamline processes at hospitals and clinics, shorten queues and reduce waiting times. The project formed part of the Programme Management Unit that was created to turn around healthcare delivery in Gauteng.
While the department announced during Hlongwa's term that the project would be expanded following the results of the pilot project, this decision has now been reversed by Mahlangu. The department previously stated early tests went off “without a hitch” and it was working to spread the patient smart card programme to hospitals throughout the province.
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