Medico-legal brief three: Understanding the life of a caregiver of a child with cerebral palsy

Michelle Flowers, Suhavna Khalawan and Dr Jodi Wishnia | August 2023

Despite it being well-known that the cost of caring for a child with cerebral palsy (CP) is high, epidemiological data outlining the services required for CP is limited. Much is still to be learned about the variety of needs and care pathways for those affected. To drive quality care and rehabilitation, and justice for families who have suffered due to medical negligence, while also ensuring sound, ethical management of health budgets, we need to better understand the costs of CP care and rehabilitation in South Africa.

This brief:

• Summarises the findings from our primary research with caregivers of children with CP, medico-legal claimants, and CP practitioners in South Africa. Our research showed that caregivers often have needs that are different to what the experts advise in their reports and that their needs are not necessarily more costly than expert recommendations. Understanding what these needs are is crucial to creating a case for structured settlements.

• Proposes a benefit package and costing tool for CP-related medico-legal claims in South Africa, which will assist the Department of Health (DoH) in budgeting and planning. Caregivers often do not know the needs of the children, so this schedule also assists them with understanding what their children need, as well as assistance with budgeting and planning in advance.