Gauteng residents dependent on state healthcare continue to suffer as clinics are not constructed on time

Long waiting times and long queues at Gauteng health facilities will continue to be the order of the day. The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, which is responsible for the building and maintenance of health facilities, is failing dismally in delivering on its core mandate and is unable to complete many clinics.

This also means that our residents who are in dire need of medical attention will not get treatment on time which could prove to be fatal.

For the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year, GDID was meant to complete five healthcare facilities but none of these has been completed. This information was revealed in the second quarterly report for GDID.

According to the report the following facilities were meant to be completed:

· Sebokeng Clinic
· Kekanastad Clinic
· Finetown Clinic
· Mandisa Shiceka CDC
· Boikhutsong Clinic CDC

Construction work has stopped at most of these facilities because of issues with poorly performing contractors as well as a lack of coordination with local government in dealing with regulatory requirements.

The construction at Finetown Clinic is overdue as a result of the stalling of the town planning application and the lack of power of attorney. In the case of Mandisa Shiceka CDC, the project was not completed because the contractor is waiting for the wayleave approval from the municipality to connect bulk services. The Boikhutsong CDC was not completed on time due to town planning issues.

GDID is constantly failing to deliver infrastructure projects on time and within budget. Despite this, the political principals sit with arms folded instead of intervening and resolving the obstructions that exist.

Despite several requests for the department to do probity checks on contractors to ensure that they have both the technical skill and the financial muscle to perform, the department continues to appoint incompetent contractors. There are ongoing problems with contractors not performing, having cash flow problems, or not paying their workers on time.

The former MEC for this department, Tasneem Motara, was recently replaced and not a moment too soon. The newly appointed MEC Lebogang Maile has a poor track record of overseeing the Human Settlements Department, so there is some concern that he has the expertise necessary to make a discernible difference in the trajectory of this dysfunctional department.

The DA proposes that a skills audit be conducted within this department to ensure that all the officials in key positions are suitably qualified and that there is scrutiny of companies who are awarded the tenders to build clinics, schools, and libraries.

No hospitals accredited for NHI in Gauteng

No hospitals and only 40 out of 372 provincial clinics in Gauteng have so far been assessed for the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI).

This information is from Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku in reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Masuku, the 40 Primary Health Clinics were assessed by the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) in the week of 26 -30 August 2019, but “no facility has received the results from OHSC whether they have been accredited or not.”

It is not known when all Gauteng state health facilities will be accredited as “the accreditation mandate lies with OHSC and therefore they are the ones who provide dates of accreditation of the hospitals.”

This is yet another indication that Government is woefully unprepared to introduce its ambitious NHI in the near future.

I doubt whether the OHSC has the resources to assess every single public health facility, and most of them are unlikely to get accreditation because of poor facilities and service.

This follows the disclosure that not a single Gauteng health facility has been assessed as complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The big question is this: If government cannot even meet quality requirements for its own health facilities, how are they going to efficiently run a massive centralized NHI fund that will contract with all health providers?

It would be far better to do achievable incremental improvements in both the public and private health sectors rather than a risky half-baked NHI plan that could make things worse.

Gauteng short of 39 clinics

 

Thirty-nine new clinics need to be built in Gauteng in order to cover the health needs of an expanding population.

 

This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

 

According to Ramokgopa, there are currently 369 clinics in Gauteng, of which 340 are “adequately utilised”.

 

She says that 29 clinics serve too few patients as they are “situated in an effectual elite area where most of the population are insured”.

 

Inadequately utilised clinics that are identified include the following:

 

Johannesburg – Randburg, Sandton, Malvern, Kensington and Crown Gardens.
Tshwane – Rayton, De Wagensdrift, Pretorius Park, Silverton, Skinner Street,
Eldoraigne and Onverwacht.
Ekurhuleni – Reedville, Bonaero Park, Olifantsfontein, Alra Park, Reedville and Crystal Park.
West Rand – Noordheuvel, Itumeleng, Elandsfontein, Venterpost and Deelkraal.
Sedibeng – Driehoek, Beverley Hills, Rensburg and Market Avenue.

 

I disagree that many of the above clinics are underutilised. Not all of them are in affluent areas and there are also many people in the richer suburbs who are dependent on state healthcare, such as domestic workers.

 

Furthermore, many of the 340 clinics that Ramokgopa says are “adequately utilised” are overcrowded with inadequate facilities and staff to serve the patients.

 

Primary health care is a provincial competence that the Gauteng Health Department has delegated in many instances to local authorities who are hard-pressed to run these clinics using ratepayer money.

 

I am concerned that the department spent R1.926 billion in 2016/17 on clinics, which is a tiny increase on the R1.925 billion spent the previous year.

 

Municipalities need more financial assistance from the province to run their clinics, and the 39 more clinics that are needed should be built in good time.

Media Enquiries

Jack Bloom MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health
082 333 4222

Appointment Of The Moral Regeneration Movement By Gauteng Infrastructure Raises Questions

Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development

The decision by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) to involve the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) to assist in driving its campaign to safeguard public assets from being vandalised has raised a few eyebrows.

The campaign, called “I Care, We Care”, was launched by the department a number of months ago, with its primary objective to convince members of civil society that vandalising or destroying public assets such as schools, hospitals or clinics is counterproductive and self-defeating.

The appointment of the MRM has however provoked interest, as it must be remembered that initially, the patron of the MRM was none other President, J G Zuma, who eventually resigned from this position.

MEC Jacob Mamabolo

One would have expected that in the debate on the fitness of the President to hold office that the MRM, as the centre of our collective South African morality, would have had something to say. Instead there was deathly silence.

Funding for the MRM comes from national government, and receives a very small budget. It must also be noted that the MRM has few human resources, so it begs the question -what will the Movement do and how much they will be paid?

MEC for DID, Jacob Mamabolo, was extremely vague as to the amount of money allocated to them, stating that it could be between R2 to R3 million.

One hopes that this is not a cynical mechanism to augment the funds of the MRM.

In light of the laudable objectives of the campaign and an appeal from the MEC to evaluate the MRM’s performance as the project proceeds, the appointment was accepted.

The DA will pose questions to the MEC to ascertain the exact amount the MRM is receiving from the department’s budget. We will also scrutinise the project to ensure that value for money is maximised as a result of the MRM’s input.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Alan Fuchs MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Development

060 558 8313

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Department Of Health Must Respect The Rights Of Patients

At the Gauteng Legislature’s petitions committee public hearings held in Sebokeng yesterday, officials from the Department of Health admitted that patient’s receiving treatment at local clinics in Lesedi have been treated badly by nursing staff.

This was revealed from questions emanating from the group petition submitted by my colleague, DA Gauteng Legislature Chief Whip, Mike Moriarty, which dealt with concerns about unsympathetic medical staff’s attitude towards patients – particularly the elderly and disabled.

The department has explained how it will be working towards upskilling and improving the quality of treatment patients will receive from nursing staff.

When patients arrive at clinics, they are often at their most vulnerable which is aggravated by the negative attitude of staff.

The turnabout strategy as suggested by the department must be implemented as soon as possible to ensure that patients enjoy not only quality, but dignified healthcare.

The DA will continue to monitor this situation and respond to the needs of residents.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Lebo More MPL

DA Spokesperson on Petitions

072 273 4487

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Sick people in Tshwane left in the cold

Note to editors: The following remarks were made by DA Tshwane Mayoral Candidate, Solly Msimanga, at an oversight visit to Dube Clinic in Winterveldt today. Msimanga was joined by the Western Cape Minister of Health, Professor Nomafrench Mbombo MPL, and constituency head, Marius Redelinghuys MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Police.

Today I stand alongside the residents of Winterveldt, who are forced to wait in long lines to receive basic health care services from the Dube Clinic. I have heard your stories about dysfunctional clinics in Tshwane, and heard your calls for change.

Section 27 of the Constitution guarantees the right to access to health care services. But under the ANC in the City of Tshwane, this right is not being given life.

Under the ANC government in Tshwane, clinics have fallen into disrepair and are under-stocked, under-staffed and under-equipped. Residents are forced to travel long distances and queue for hours on end to receive basic health care.

The most recent General Household Survey shows that almost half a million people in Tshwane have to travel between 30 minutes and 89 minutes to reach the nearest health facility.

While according to the most recent Stock Outs National Survey, almost 40% of health care facilities in Tshwane do not have the stock they need to ensure the people have the medication they need.

Some of these facilities experience stock outs of vital medication such as ARVs and TB medication for more than a month. This is a disgrace.

For too long the people of Tshwane have suffered at the hands of an uncaring ANC government that has allowed corruption to thrive, service delivery to grind to a halt and unemployment to increase. The ANC government have neglected the vulnerable in our society, including those people who rely on clinics for basic health care services.

For too many residents in our Capital City life is a daily struggle. We cannot accept this.

Yesterday we launched the DA’s Manifesto for Tshwane, our plan to bring change to the Capital that will move it forward again.

As part of our commitment to providing better services, we will ensure that the residents of this City have access to world-class health care services.

The DA in Tshwane is committed to increasing the number of mobile clinics so that people who usually have to travel far while sick to get to clinics no longer have to.

And we will extend the service hours of health facilities to make sure that all people who need care, receive it.

Health care is a basic right; we must ensure that residents receive the treatment they deserve.

On August 3 you have an opportunity to vote out the ANC and elect a DA government that will bring change to Tshwane.

Victory for the DA in Tshwane is in reach, but requires the support of every voter who wants to bring change to this City.

We can make Tshwane great again and we can do it together by voting for the change that the Capital needs.

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