Cape Town - The Eastern Cape Health Department can sigh in relief after Health Minister Joe Phaahla indicated that he was not yet considering placing the provincial department under administration.
DA MP Lindy Wilson wrote to Phaahla asking whether he would intervene in terms of Section 100 of the Constitution in the province saddled with challenges in the delivery of health services.
Wilson asked about a collapse of health services in large parts of the Eastern Cape and in particular at the Livingston Hospital, hit by a severe lack of supply in vital medical and health equipment and a mass exodus of doctors and specialists in recent months.
Phaahla said he was aware of the challenges in the Eastern Cape Department of Health in most of its facilities, including Livingstone hospital.
“We are providing all the support necessary. It is not the intention of the national department to institute the Section 100 provision, but the intention is to support the province on all its interventions,” he said.
“We are supporting the province in its health Turn-Around Plan consisting of six pillars to address its administrative challenges.
“The strategies outlined in the plan envisage collaboration with and seeking assistance from other government departments and the Office of the Premier as well as external stakeholders including the private sector, communities and academic institutions,” he said.
Phaahla said the plan outlined the strategies and the support required from each of the stakeholders.
In terms of the financial sustainability of the Eastern Cape Department of Health, they were looking at strategies to take the department beyond compliance and towards social entrepreneurship.
“Strategies to address this pillar include revenue generation, introducing efficiencies, management of cost-drivers and management of debt and unauthorised expenditure.”
There was a focus on stopping the haemorrhaging of funds as a result of medico-legal claims by ensuring case management was strengthened; developing medico-legal litigation expertise and managing unauthorised expenditure associated with medico-legal settlements.
The province was saddled with 379 medico-legal claims to the tune of R4.5 billion in the 2021/22 financial year.
This was up from 361 cases recorded in the prior year.
Phaahla also said the department was addressing inadequate capacity to track all debts against the department, insufficient staff and budget to electronically capture and store maternity medical records.
“Support services are manual, therefore (they are) labour-intensive, cumbersome and prone to human error and broadband to critical sites slow. Alternative solutions are required in the interim to gain last mile connectivity.”
The minister also said they were looking at strengthening leadership and management as well as improving stakeholder trust and confidence in the EC healthcare system. “The key focus areas are valued employees, capable teams, effective leadership and change management.”
Asked specifically about the exodus of highly trained specialists at the Livingstone Tertiary Hospital due to the dire state of the facility, Phaahla said his department was working with its provincial counterpart.
The IFP’s Bhekizizwe Luthuli asked him to provide the number of specialists who have left the hospital since January 2022 and the number of vacancies that currently exist within the hospital and steps taken by his department to address the shortage of specialists and staff at the hospital.
“The National Department of Health is still working with the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health to verify details. The full breakdown will be provided as the information is received.
Cape Times