E.Cape promises better care | Health-e
Home South African Health Facilities E.Cape promises better care
April 23, 2004	Posted in: Health Management, Public Health & Health Systems
23rd April 2004 | Health-e News
THANDEKA: Yinyaniso ethe gca eyokuba sekuyiminyaka emininzi umgangatho wezempilo kwiMpuma Koloni uye wehla kakhulu neyinto ethe yachaphazela iinkonzo zonyango. Ugqirha Litha Matiwane ophethe icala lezibhedlele eMpuma Koloni uthi bayazama ukuphucula iinkonzo zempilo.
Translation: It’s widely known that the health public system in the Eastern Cape has deteriorated over the past decade. But efforts are being made to improve the situation. Dr. Litha Matiwane Head of Hospital Services explains.
DR MATIWANE: We have taken an approach, which says here are our main issues. We’ve found out that it was around the actual management through ensuring that there are enough numbers of people to actually run the services. That was, one, the major challenge and I think we are moving forward in unraveling that. The levels of Hollywood posts (Acting Personnel) have decreased significantly and people have been appointed. The second issue is the issue of the actual service provision and whether now we have the service available to the appropriate places. And this is the issue where the revatalization comes through. Revitalization its main focus as driven by national is on hospitals as you might know from the past that many institutions have been deteriorating with time there has not been any revamping. The revamping has focused on infrastructure equipment but we then said it won’t help to have a beautiful structure with top class equipment and yet you can’t manage it properly. It has also an element of organizational development and quality improvement within the revitalization programme. Those are the issues we focused on in terms of ensuring that the structures are fine. The service impact as well we know that we’ve got major challenges in terms of luring and recruiting people into the Eastern Cape. We’ve focused diversely into saying that we need to recruit and retain in trying to improve service conditions so that people can say I want to work there because the service conditions are better.
Translation: Siye sathatha inyathelo elithi nazi ezona zinto zidlu’mzi. Sifumanise ukuba iingxaki bezi kulawulo (management) lokubona ukuba ngenene bakhona abantu abanelelyo bokunikezela ngeenkonzo. Le ibiyeyona nto ingumceli mngeni nendicinga ukuba ngoku siyiphethe. Abantu abangamabambelela okanye iActing Personnel baye bahla kakhulu kwaqashwa abantu abafunekayo. Okwesibini, kukubona ukuba iinkozno ziyafumaneka yaye zifumaneka kwindawo ekumelel ukuba zifumaneka kuzo. Umba wokuvuselelwa kwezibhedlele lo ngumba obutshisibunzi kuba kaloku kwixa elingaphambilili izibhedlele ezininzi zayekelelwa nje azaphuhilwa. Uphuhliso lujonge ekwakheni kodwa oku akuzokunceda nto ekubeni sibe nesakhiwo esihle kodwa sibe nento yonke kodwa singafumani mpatho intle. Lenkqubo ikwajongene nokwakha nokuphucula umbutho kwalapha koluphuhliso. Ezo zezinye zezinto esijongene nazo ekubeni izintlu ezi zilungile. Sikwajone nokuloba abantu kuba siyazi ukuba kukho umceli mngeni omkhulu kulo mba wokuqasha kweleMpuma Koloni. Sizimisele ukuqasha yaye sigcine abo sele bekhona ukuphucucula iinkonzo zibe zezingcono khonukuze abantu bakwazi ukuthi bafuna uyokusebenza kula ndawo ngomzimba okhululekileyo kuba bebona inkonzo engcono.
THANDEKA: Abasebenzi bezempilo bamathidala ukuyokusebenza kumaphandle kuba abo batshatileyo kunzima ukufunela amaqabane abo imisebenzi kwaye kukanzima kakhulu kubazali abanabantwana abasafundayo njengoko izikolo zinqabile uthso uMike fraser, ibambela ntloko kwiSebe leZempilo eMpuma Koloni.
Translation: Health workers are reluctant to move to rural areas because their spouses cannot find jobs and families must live off a single income. The lack of schools in rural areas is another reason why people who have children do not wish to go to move to such places says, Acting Head of the Eastern Cape provincial Health Department, Mike Fraser.
MIKE FRASER: There’s massive haemoraging out of the health system and the lot of it is to overseas. Inevitably the less resourced and historically badly resourced provinces are the ones that will suffer the most because people will leave the less hospitable area, long before they leave the pleasant green cities and that’s unfortunately one of the issues we are grappling with. As the reverse will happen if you had an influx from overseas or from any foreign countries of nurses the first places they would go to would be in fact be cities they wouldn’t be encouraged about going to the particular inhospitable rural areas. There are real problems on the ground related to that for instance even if you had the people how would you encourage them to stay there because the issues around, the logistics of getting your children to a school for instance.
Where are the schools? Where does your spouse work if you move to one of those areas because there’s massive of unemployment? Remember this province unemployment is about 66 percent. It’s not just a pure number issue it’s how one would attract and retain and that’s one of our main strategies at the moment that we are looking as to how do you recruit and retain medical professionals. Umtata in fact is another good example anybody who went to Umtata at the moment could not get a school nobody. Umtata has other logistical issues particular relating to the provision of housing it’s almost none existent.
Translation: Ininzi into engahambi ngendlela kwicandelo lezempilo kuba kaloku uninzi lwabantu luhamba luye phesheya. Ukungabonelelwa kakuhle kwenkonzo nokunqongophala kwezinto zokusebenza ukungabonelelwa kakuhle kwamaphondo loonto yenza ukuba abantu bashiye amaziko abo ezempilo kuba besithi akukho nkqubela phambili neyinto eyingxaki enkulu nesiphethe kakubi. Nokuba bekunokuthiwa bayabuya abongikazi kodwa bayakuqala ngokusebenza kwiidolophu ezinkulu abanakho nokujonga emva emaphandleniapho iimeko zingancumisiyo. Nokuba uyabafumanan abantu kukho iingxaki enjengokungabikho kwezikoloumzekelo. Bazakuzifumana phi izikolo? Ummlingane wakho uzakusebenza phi ukuba uyokusebenza kwezoondawo kuba akukho misebenzi. Khumbula eli phondo linabantu abazi pesenti ezingama 66 abangenamisebenzi. Umab apha ayingmanani nje koko sizama ukujongana neendlela zokuqasha nezokugcina abasebenzi bezempilo abasele besebenza. Kodwa sikwenza njani oko? Umtata ngumzekelo omhle kuba kwabo sele bevela khona akukho namnye umntu okhe wafumana isikolo, ndithi nomnye. Umtata uphinde ube nengxaki kwicala lezindlu.
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