What is Medical Mediation? 

Going through the litigation process can be unnerving for both doctors and patients. It can lead to stress and anxiety as well as financial hardship and even reputational damage. In contrast, mediation works towards a conciliatory outcome rather than a combative one and can help to reduce the impact on doctors involved in clinical negligence claims as well as patients. Mediation is now being used in many countries around the world, as well as in South Africa, to resolve disputes, and is seen as a more attractive alternative. While mediation can’t guarantee the avoidance of conflict, it does aim to bring disputing parties together in agreement.

The use of an unbiased and impartial third party as mediator means that they will not impose their views on either party and will not try to enforce an outcome, but rather facilitate both parties to find their own solutions. Mediation works by bringing together hospitals or healthcare practitioners and potential claimants to discuss their case. It can take place whether or not court proceedings have begun. All discussions that take place are subject to a strict code of confidentiality.

Mediation deals with the needs of both parties rather than rights, and in that sense, is therefore facilitative and not adjudicative. A skilful mediator can identify the real issues at the heart of the dispute, which are not usually identified in court documents. Mediation is a process that takes place away from open court and usually in a safe environment, putting both parties in the dispute at the centre of the process.

Mediation is welcomed by Medical Protection as we have experience of mediation across our caseload and we would particularly like to see mechanisms put in place that facilitate the early resolution of claims.

The benefits
The most obvious advantage is the speed with which mediation can be convened and concluded.
“If anything, the case for mediation is even stronger in South Africa, where access to justice is out of the reach of most citizens and many businesses”, according to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD)
They list numerous potential benefits of choosing mediation:
• It offers speedy resolution of disputes
• It is considerably cheaper than litigation
• It provides a win-win situation for both parties in a dispute
• The process is flexible and avoids technicalities
• It is a voluntary process
• It promotes reconciliation

Content extracted and shortened  from : https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/the-beauty-of-mediation-to-ease-the-trauma-of-medical-negligence-litigation/