By Libuseng Nyaka
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WALKING THE TALK: Free State Health MEC Fezi Ngubentombi stresses a point at a stakeholders meeting called to find solutions to deteriorating conditions at Mphumelela hospital in Thabo Mofutsanyana district on Tuesday, October 2
QWA QWA – The deteriorating health delivery system in the countryside stared MEC Fezi Ngubentombi in the face when she visited Mphumelela hospital that is operating without cleaners, an acute shortage of health staff and other problems in remote rural Thabo Mofutsanyana district on Tuesday, October 2.
Ngubentombi turned the tables on the staff and demanded steps be taken to remedy a slew of problems she had been presented with.
Mphumelela hospital, National Health Insurance pilot project, operates without a doctor and less than nine nurses because staff shun working in such a remote area.
The CEO of Thebe hospital Fanyana Moloi also told the MEC during a gathering held at Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli hospital in Thabo Mofutsanayana that the hospital direly needed resources.
A nurse at Mphumelela recounted how lack of staff remained a barrier to quality health care service.
“We have recruited some nurses but after acquiring their qualification they leave this area because the place is too remote and lacks basic amenities such as transport.
“There are no incentives to attract health professionals to come and work here. A nurse deployed here has to hike while visiting home while lack of affordable accommodation for health workers, forces them to rent a room for R900,” she said.
She told Ngubentombi there was one nurse at Memela. “When she is sick the clinic closes,” she said.
She said they had hoped things would change after Premier Ace Magashule visited the area in 2010 and promised to improve the situation but till now nothing had been done. “It is very depressing to be willing to help patients but fail due to lack of equipment and infrastructure. We need a permanent driver to be deployed here “she said.
She said the implementation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains a challenge as there is no storeroom for drugs.
Another senior health officer from Setsoto, Ntsoaki, Nathane said Ficksburg has been operating without a doctor for months beside the unresolved issue of lack of water. “Setsoto is trying; nurses have to carry buckets of water to wash toilets. Clocolan has been out of water for 43 days.”
Another common problem that is a challenge to all municipalities that fall under Thabo Mofutsanyana is the lack of security.
Molefi Rakhome head of security at Thabo Mofutsanyana said the province was creating problems for itself by employing security personnel without screening them first as this allowed criminal elements to be hired. Rakhome said the problem is created by lack of
collaboration between his office and cooperatives offices.
But Ngubentombi shot back at administrators and said some of the challenges could be corrected. “Those challenges are possible to confront and will be attended to by November1. I do not understand why there are no cleaners in some of health facilities while we have a high rate of unemployment. On the issue of nurse’s post I do not want to compromise, such vacancies must be filled. We will engage with our committee to ensure that this entire problem is given urgent attention,” MEC promised.
She also blamed poor planning as one of the challenges that added to some of the problems. “We fail to put our priorities right. We need to have a retention strategy,” said Ngubentombi. Thabo Mofutsanyana is a pilot district of National Health Insurance (NHI) in Free State.
The NHI is a financing system that will make sure that all citizens of South Africa and legal long term residents are provided with essential health care regardless of their employment status. The plotting of NHI commenced on April 2012 whereby ten districts based on their poverty line had been selected to pilot NHI of which Thabo Mofutsanyana is one of them.