Date: 01/09/2006
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Hlongwa: Pholosong Hospital Open Day


Speech by the Gauteng MEC for Health, Dr Brian Hlongwa, at the Pholosong hospital open day

Programme Director
Acting Head of Department
Hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Members of the hospital
Senior managers
Hospital staff
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to be with you this morning at the open day of Pholosong hospital. Open days are an opportunity for hospital staff to interact with members of the public, to share information and to showcase some of the excellent services offered at the hospital. I think this should also be used as an opportunity to listen to what the needs of the community are and to seek to understand what their experiences have been in our facilities.

I am grateful that this open day coincides with the opening of a new pharmacy in this hospital. In my visits to hospitals I have found that pharmacies are an area where many of our people spend a lot of time waiting for their medicine to be dispensed.

My views on waiting times in our hospitals are now very well known. I have said and I want to repeat it that it is unacceptable for sick patients to wait in long queues before being attended to. I do not need to be told that health professionals should spend less time in staff meetings and symbolic gatherings and more time looking after the welfare of patients.

I do not need a three month investigation to tell me that it is unacceptable that in the age of technology we still have to capture patient information manually and open new files every time they come to consult us.

I hope all of these issues have been kept upper most in our minds where we constructed this pharmacy. This should not be merely a nice new building but it should be a facility that staff members look forward to working in and it must also be welcoming to patients. I hope that the time of long waiting periods for drugs at Pholosong are over.

I am heartened by the number of initiatives that the department has undertaken over the past year to improve the quality of services at our pharmacies.

In an effort to attract and retain pharmacists into the public sector, we have upgraded their position, making it possible to improve their salaries.

We have also embarked on a programme to build and improve pharmacies in our hospitals. Pharmacies have been constructed at the Dr Yusuf Dadoo, Kopanong, Edenvale, Weskoppies, Pholosong and Coronation Hospitals. Construction of new pharmacies is currently underway at the Heidelberg, Far East Rand, Helen Joseph, Leratong and Pretoria regional hospitals. However the province still faces a backlog regarding infrastructure upgrade and development needs for the pharmacies.

A total of 163 pharmacist assistants completed training in April 2006 and were placed in pharmacies. At the same time 66 community service pharmacists and 38 pharmacist interns were placed in various institutions

Compared to the 2005 baseline study, hospital pharmacy waiting times decreased by 19% at regional hospitals and 2% at district hospitals. However waiting times remain a challenge that we must confront and triumph over.

We need to enhance the technology that we use to further improve queue management. The good work performed by our dedicated health professionals is often undone by our weak information systems resulting in long waiting times.

I thank you.

Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
1 September 2006