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The Portfolio Committee on Health conducted a two-day oversight visit in Tshwane District. The Committee visited the Tshwane District Hospital, Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre, Holani, KT Motubaste and Soshanguve Block TT Clinics.

Following the oversight in the health facilities, the Committee held a meeting with the MEC for Health in Gauteng, Ms Qedani Mahlangu, wherein the Committee provided an overview of their findings during the walkabout and interaction with the staff and patients.

The Committee raised a concern on the ward-based outreach teams. From the interaction with the staff, members of the Committee were exposed to the challenges of the outreach teams with regard to access to home based care. The Committee said this is a worrying factor because community health workers play an important role in the public health sector particularly in the re-engineering of primary health care.

The Committee raised a concern with provision of laundry and catering service. The Committee brought to the attention of the MEC that it seems the facility does not have capacity to provide services to the healthcare institutions at the level which is expected.

The Committee also indicated that another concern is the maintenance and provision of equipment in the health facilities. Members of the Committee said the turnaround time for the maintenance and provision of equipment is long as these services are centralised at the Provincial Health Department.

The Committee noted with concern the response time of emergency services and said this is a worrying factor as the issue came up in almost all the health institutions that were visited especially the clinics.

Human resources in all of the facilities is an issue that needs urgent attention. Managers from the clinics and hospitals complained that there are staff shortages across all categories. In Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre which operates 24 hours and 7 days a week, the Committee was informed that there was one radiographer for the facility; this leaves the facility with no staff at the X-RAY department after hours.

The Committee commended the state of cleanliness in all the facilities that they had visited. In addition, the Committee lauded Tshwane District Hospital for maintaining a zero percent maternal mortality rate for the past seven years.
                                              
Chairperson for the Committee, Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa, said during the oversight what they have observed is that health professionals do not wear protective gear, she said.

The Committee urged the department to look into strengthening the school health programme to combat malnutrition as it seems to be rearing its head in the province.

The Committee expressed concern on the challenges around infrastructure.

In the clinics the Committee noted that some clinic committees are functional and that there is a good relationship between the community and health workers.

The Committee praised the work that is done by healthcare workers under difficult conditions of being short-staffed. What impressed the Committee was the positive attitude of the healthcare workers.

The Committee will deliberate on all issues and thereafter make recommendations which will follow Parliamentary processes thereafter be sent to the affected provincial departments once the report has been adopted.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Health, Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa