Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku has raised concerns about the state of hospitals in the province.
Masuku has been in office for 90 days and said occupational health and safety (OHS) is not compliant.
“The bigger challenge we are faced with at the moment is the shortage of staff members which has serious problems in terms of the staff attitude and their morale. Among other things is the inadequacy of our infrastructure and the look and feel of our hospitals which are dirty and not well kept,” Masuku said.
He said his department has prioritised renovations and refurbishment and making sure that its facilities are OHS compliant.
Masuku said they also want to improve the patient experience in the facilities in terms of waiting times and getting treatment.
The department also faces billion of rands in claims for negligence. To address this issue, Masuku said they were looking into reducing the cost by using their own costing and pricing within the public sector.
“The ones that have been used are the ones we get from private practices and we all know that prices there are quite expensive. We want to prevent issues that relate to adverse happenings which are not necessary [such as] issues of negligence and institute mediation where we can be able to talk to the patients outside the courts of law. Also patients who need treatment will be treated and managed in our health facilities,” Masuku said.
Gauteng health MEC has big plans to increase staff, refurbish hospitals and reduce negligence claims
Image: Tankiso Makhetha
Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku has raised concerns about the state of hospitals in the province.
Masuku has been in office for 90 days and said occupational health and safety (OHS) is not compliant.
“The bigger challenge we are faced with at the moment is the shortage of staff members which has serious problems in terms of the staff attitude and their morale. Among other things is the inadequacy of our infrastructure and the look and feel of our hospitals which are dirty and not well kept,” Masuku said.
He said his department has prioritised renovations and refurbishment and making sure that its facilities are OHS compliant.
Masuku said they also want to improve the patient experience in the facilities in terms of waiting times and getting treatment.
The department also faces billion of rands in claims for negligence. To address this issue, Masuku said they were looking into reducing the cost by using their own costing and pricing within the public sector.
“The ones that have been used are the ones we get from private practices and we all know that prices there are quite expensive. We want to prevent issues that relate to adverse happenings which are not necessary [such as] issues of negligence and institute mediation where we can be able to talk to the patients outside the courts of law. Also patients who need treatment will be treated and managed in our health facilities,” Masuku said.
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