/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Gauteng Department of Health is ready to engage Section 27, its allies and all users of the public healthcare services on the Gauteng Turnaround Strategy, Section 27's “Monitoring Our Health Report” and service delivery improvements in the Gauteng Health Department.

On 4 March 2013 Section 27 and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) launched the “Monitoring Our Health Report” which identified "sharp deterioration in healthcare at hospitals and clinics in Gauteng, marked by shortages of medicines, collapsing infrastructure, broken equipment, inadequate provision of staff and misuse and misallocation of funds". Section 27 further gave the MEC a 30 day ultimatum.

"The scale up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), in particular, is unprecedented and brings with it enormous challenges," said MEC Hope Papo. "This demands that the delivery system shifts away from a service that is overly biomedical in orientation, disease focused and provider dominated."

The department has studied the report and developed a comprehensive report providing detailed responses to the issues raised in the 34 page report. The comprehensive response, available for consultation, details a number of initiatives already implemented, some yielding positive results and others with long-term effects. 

Among these are:

• Appointment of 2 752 personnel to critical posts to enable hospitals to perform their work effectively as at end of December 2012. These included 830 nurses, 657 medical doctors, 556 allied professionals, 42 allied support staff, 425 administration staff and 165 support staff. In January 2013, 920 medical and allied trainees who completed their community service were absorbed against funded vacant posts. This included 739 professional nurses, 80 medical practitioners, 30 pharmacists amongst others;
• Disciplinary action taken against senior officials and these cases are at different stages of finalisation;
• Implementing stringent medicine stock management systems in all facilities and exploring building a new medicine supply depot for the department;
• Embarked on a project to compile a database of retired nursing personnel particularly midwives, with in order to improve maternal services and outcomes as well as to reinforce and retrain staff on the management of obstetric emergencies; and
• Finalising contracts  for medical equipment which are aligned to the National essential equipment list.

These will come into effect in the 2013/14 financial year, to mention a few. 

MEC Papo says as part of the turnaround the department has begun a process of ensuring that healthcare delivery "is seen in a broader context, with all stakeholders involved." He emphasised that this will be a key feature to rally the support, role of and input from all stakeholders as the Health department turns itself around.

"In this regard we are ready to engage all stakeholders on ways to improve healthcare delivery in a manner that takes into consideration responsibilities and capacities of all health constituents and stakeholders," he added.

"We cannot deal with the issues raised in the report as though they only concern members of the compilers," added the Acting Head of the Department Ndoda Biyela. "It is also important that we clarify a number of erroneous issues that were raised due to lack of information. We cannot be confrontational in our approach because health is a responsibility of both the provider and user."

MEC Papo concluded by emphasising that his department acknowledges the concerns and recommendations raised in the section 27 report. "We hope our comprehensive response will indicate our commitment to addressing the challenges and improve the health status of the people of Gauteng. It should be noted that some of the issues reflected on the report have been resolved or are at different stages of being resolved. We are open and committed to engage everyone for a better and healthier Gauteng."