The NW health MEC held a meeting to assess service delivery progress, identify challenges and chart a way forward on 27 January 2017.
In the assessment of problems facing provincial hospitals, Dr Magome Masike pleaded with hospital CEOs and chairpersons of the boards, to be frank about the challenges they face.
According to Tebogo Lekgethwane, the department spokesperson, both parties raised the issues of the dire shortage of health professionals and the current moratorium on the filling of posts.
‘While the moratorium primarily affects administrative posts, the department still has to get approval from the provincial treasury to be able to fill health-related posts,’ he said.
Another problem is the payment of accruals and litigations.
‘We pay our debts at the beginning of every year before the budget is used. We try and save to be able to pay our accruals.
No one wants to work in a dirty hospital and we need to find a way of making more budget available for maintenance in our facilities.
This is the reality and, unfortunately, the status quo is likely to remain for some time,’ said Masike. He said, however, that a health system that works for everyone and that produces positive health outcomes is not out of reach. It can be achieved if all stakeholders work together.
‘It is possible to raise the life expectancy of South Africans to at least 70.
In our response to Ch.10 of the NDP, i.e. promoting health, we need to address the social determinants of health and promote healthy behaviour and lifestyles. Our major goal is to reduce the disease burden to manageable levels, he said.

Masike called for strategic, multi-dimensional and collaborative leadership, work-based teams, motivation and good work ethics, resources (human and financial).
He said the department wants to implement NHI successfully, expand free primary healthcare, reduce private health care costs, improve the quality of public health service and improve human resources for health.
‘There are two parallels in our healthcare system today – one catering for the rich and one for the poor. We need to bridge that gap. We need a health care system that caters for everybody,’ he said.
Masike added that poor health infrastructure, the shortage of health professionals, chronic illnesses, mental health, injury and violence, maternal, neonatal and child mortality all need to be addressed.
Masike was proud to announce that the NW Department of Health has 453 students currently studying medicine in Cuba – the third-highest number in the country.
There were 459 graduates last year, he added. ‘Our target is to produce a thousand to bridge the gap of lack of human resource. How many of them are coming from your villages? he asked.
Masike committed his department to intensifying its fight against HIV/Aids and TB, reducing maternal and child mortality and promoting women in health.
Chairpersons of hospital boards are elected in terms of the National Health Act to represent communities in their struggle to find their legitimate share in the governance and transformation of the health institutions and the health system, generally.