On 11 September 2019, in Parliament, the Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize, was unable to provide an answer to the FF Plus’s question of why all Gauteng’s state hospitals and clinics could not pass their safety audits.
The Minister could only say that he does not have a comprehensive report on the matter and that he will attempt to answer the FF Plus’s question at a later stage.
The FF Plus finds the Minister’s response disconcerting. The problem was pointed out at the end of last month already when the MEC for Health in Gauteng revealed that 11 of the facilities that were audited did not comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s requirements.
The Minister has a very serious problem on his hands and it is clear that he has no control over what is happening in his Department as well as in the various provinces.
These failed audits serve as proof that our public health care facilities will not be able to handle the increased pressure that the National Health Insurance (NHI) will put on them and, thus, the NHI will fail.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Philip van Staden on FF Plus
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