Pretoria – Just over half of South Africa’s public health facilities have “ideal clinic” status.
This was revealed by Minister of Health Joe Phaahla while answering a written parliamentary question from the DA.
“Ideal clinics” are facilities that have good infrastructure, adequate staff, adequate medicine and other supplies, and that use good administrative processes and applicable clinical policies, protocols and guidelines to ensure the provision of quality health services to the community.
DA MP Michele Clarke said of the country’s 3 477 clinics and hospitals, only 32% have achieved platinum status, which means they achieved 100% in the category for non-negotiable vitals, more than 80% in the vital category, and have more than 70% in essential and important categories.
However, with load shedding ever on the increase, Clarke said the number of facilities that maintained their status could decrease dramatically.
“The president’s announcement in his post-Sona debate reply that the ANC will push NHI implementation come hell or high water despite the country’s economic reality, staff shortages and infrastructure failures, does not bode well.
“Not only have ANC policies of cadre deployment and facilitated corruption hollowed-out the public health system, their single-minded focus on a system bound to fail will decimate what little is left of South African health care,” said Clarke.
Meanwhile, the DA’s Jack Bloom said only two out of 37 hospitals in Gauteng had valid fire clearance certificates.
This was revealed by the Gauteng Health Department in a written reply to Bloom in the province’s legislature.
According to Bloom, in the past seven years at least eight hospital fires had been reported in Gauteng and the incidents occurred in hospitals which did not have adequate fire prevention measures.
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