Issued by: GCIS
The Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalal-Msimang has been closely following developments on the situation in some Gauteng hospitals and has had some extensive discussions with the Gauteng Health authorities.
The Minister wishes to assure the public that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure that all important services including emergency and Intensive Care services will be effectively maintained throughout the year.
All provincial health departments are struggling with limited budgets, to expand access and to improve service for millions who had poor or no services in the past. At the same time, because of the inflexibility of the old system of public sector management, the process of re-shaping services and redeploying resources is still slow and difficult. All categories of staff, all departments and all hospitals are faced with similar problems of learning to live within budget.
The Minister supports the ongoing discussions between the Gauteng health department and the hospital managers - the aim of which is to find ways of prioritising limited resources, including doctors to areas of greatest need.
The Minister implores all health workers to adopt a constructive approach and work with the department whenever problems are identified. It is certainly not in the interest of the public for us to exaggerate and be sensational about whatever problems may exist.
Contact: Khangelani Hlongwane
Phone: 082 557 0978
Fax: 012 325 7813/4
Date: 23 June 1999