MBOMBELA – Despite previous denials by the health department regarding problems with infrastructure and shortages of medication plaguing health-care facilities, the MEC for health Mr Gillion Mashego announced plans to address their problems this financial year.
Mashego recently tabled the department’s budget to legislature. He said they would this year embark upon a large-scale maintenance and repair project at 107 of the province’s health-care facilities. It is to include backup generators.
He also denied the department’s previous stance that any shortage of medication in the province’s various public health facilities existed. But the MEC announced that they were embarking on a process of ensuring that Mpumalanga does not “find itself in a situation where we completely run out of medication”.
“The department has appointment a service provider to ensure that proper systems are put in place to ensure that the supply of medication is effective, stock shortages are easily detected and there is no expired medication.
“We have called on all managers to share information as to which health facilities have a shortage of medications. The ones with more stock will then be able to supply those that are short on that particular medication,” he said.
- Read the MEC’s full speech here.
He added that the number of patients on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) increased from 243 374 to 265 685 over the past financial year.
The department will also aim to ensure that all TB and HIV co-infected clients are put on treatment irrespective of the CD4 count as per the policy guideline.
These guidelines, which came into effect on January 1, also sees all pregnant women placed on lifelong therapy.
He added that the department had been experiencing challenges in the non-availability of medical-waste storage, fencing and guard houses at some facilities. “We have ensured that a budget of about R25 million is allocated to ensure that this is addressed.”
- Click here for more on the province’s agreement with Italy which will benefit health care.
