Heidelberg Hospital celebrates nurses
Nurses at the Heidelberg Hospital celebrated International Nurses' Day on May 15.
During the celebration of the event, the CEO of Heidelberg Hospital Dr Itumeleng Molatlhegi, made an expression that her institution is counted among others where nurses are still relevant to the era and nursing care of Florence Nightingale.
“When we do walkabouts as management of Heidelberg Hospital, we normally find our patients appreciating the service they are receiving from the nurses, even advocating for them regarding resources, saying that the employer can do better in providing nurses with great resources. It is evident that nursing care still exists at Heidelberg Hospital,” she said.
What makes this event a remarkable one is the fact that it coincided with a history-making day, the signing of the NHI bill into law, where the acting chief director for Sedibeng district health services, Sonwabo Lindani, uttered that Heidelberg Hospital nurses are very much ready to serve under the new NHI Act.
“NHI is a big milestone that will propel the health system in a country forward. We are coming from a two-tier system, which is a private and public sector. With 100% of the budget we have for the Department of Health, 80% of the budget goes to the private sector, and 20% goes to the public sector. In this case, there is a vice-versa in terms of patients, 5% of patients are still in the private sector, and less than 15% of people are on medical aid funded by 80% of the budget,” explained Lindani.
He further alluded that the government is on a mission to enhance the healthcare system through NHI.
“If somebody was not sure how resilient the public sector is, let us go back to the era of Covid-19, where the majority of private hospitals were closed, and public hospitals would not close. It shows that we are not running a business, but we are in a business to ensure that people are better cared for,” he said.
In his closing remarks, as delegated by the MEC for Gauteng Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, the acting chief director reminded the nurses about the mandatory principles of the I Serve With A Smile, where all healthcare professionals are expected to serve patients with a smile at all times, regardless of their gender, race, age, and nationality.
• Content provided by Nabo Vilakazi, spokesperson at Heidelberg Hospital.
