Scores of Batswana patients who were given medical treatment which experts say should not be administered outside clinical trials are planning a class action lawsuit against the Ministry of Health.
The patients who were referred to India for treatment by the Ministry of Health where the controversial spinal cord stimulator (SCS) was removed are massing to launch a claim for damages against the Botswana government.
A spinal cord stimulator (SCS) is an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve pain.
The potential litigants claim to have suffered health-related damages due to the ministry’s negligence.
This comes two months after a scathing Cochrane review raised questions about the safety, efficacy and long-term benefits of spinal cord stimulators, medical devices that are increasingly used to treat chronic back pain. “
There's more to this story
But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe.
Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it's also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers.
You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year - the choice is yours.
Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how.
Existing subscribers can log in to keep reading here.
