It is unbelievable that the people who are fighting so hard for the implementation of National Health Insurance and Universal Health Care have failed to manage the health system and seem to be blind to the magnitude of the disarray that plagues health-care in the country.
Last week, a Sunday newspapers pelt out the horrific state of Gauteng’s shambolic health-care standards which can be seen as an example of what is happening countrywide.
After visiting several Gauteng hospitals, only one hospital was found to be better managed, with patient satisfaction. The only complaint from patients was the long queues, which can hardly be blamed on the hospital.
The government has allowed people from neighbouring states to exploit our health services by failing to enforce effective border control as the influx of undocumented immigrants has continued unabated, as seen through the number of women that successfully come to SA to join their husbands who also also undocumented immigrants. Once there is overcrowding in health facilities it is impossible to maintain the required standards of patient care.
The North West Health Department was placed under administration more than five years ago, but it remains in the news for all the wrong reasons.
It is good that the government has promised, according to Dr Olive Shisane, that it would prioritise fixing all the areas that needed to be fixed before implementation of the NHI and UHC, which is scheduled to be achieved by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation.
COMETH DUBE-MAKHOLWA | Midrand
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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