Scopa grills Sunshine hospital CEO over RAF-linked business model, likens operations to ‘looting’

Simon Nare

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has questioned the business viability of a private hospital that relies heavily on the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for its survival, and likened its operations to “looting” of the entity.

MPs on Tuesday grilled Sunshine Hospital chief executive officer Ken Ford during the watchdog’s ongoing enquiry into the financial matters of the RAF, focusing on its procurement and governance processes.

The committee heard how the hospital was forced to close its doors after the RAF failed to settle R300 million debt, which has to date accumulated R21 million in interest.

Ford, facing a barrage of questions from MPs about his relationship with the RAF, insisted that the hospital catered for patients other than accident victims whose medical expenses were paid by the RAF.

However, Ford could not answer why, if the hospital was not reliant on RAF, it had to close