Health department highlights local clinic committees

The provincial health department recently stopped by local radio station Pheli FM to discuss the important role clinic committees play within communities.

Provincial clinic committee coordinator, Zanele Mazibuko said that the role of the committees is to ensure that there is community representation within clinics across the province.

“The committees are there to ensure that their local clinics are providing the services the health department said that it would. For example, each clinic has a service board listing all the services it provides, and the committees ensure that all is up to date in terms of that,” said Mazibuko.

The committees are nominated and elected by the community. Every three years the MEC for Health calls for nominations, invites nominees to participate in the elections and vets them to see who is a fit and who isn’t.

“It’s all about inclusivity, accountability and guiding the clinic on what the community needs,” Mazibuko continued.

Some of the criteria potential committee members must meet include being a South African citizen, over 18 years of age, living within 6km of the respective clinic and having a long-standing reputation with the community.

“The whole purpose is to give back to the community so you have to be well-known in your surroundings, be part of a forum, represent a constituency, a civic society, NGO, youth programme, women’s or men’s forum, something – because we need people who are going to report back to the community,” Mazibuko stated.

Some of the norms and standards that the committee is responsible for overseeing include staff attitude, cleanliness of the clinic, security, infection control compliance and ensuring sufficient stock of supplies.

The committee is structured into five roles. There’s the chairperson, deputy chair, secretary, deputy secretary and the treasurer.

The provincial coordinator disputes the treasurer role as there are no budgets within the clinics and funding comes from the district, opting to refer to the role as an adviser or fundraiser.

The districts do not offer stipends of any sort to committee members.

The committee is also responsible for overseeing the clinic open days – events that advertise the clinic – and raising funds in support.

Watch: https://fb.watch/kkxHC7ttJE/

For more information, view the following Facebook videos or visit the department’s page on, Tshwane district health services.

Watch: https://fb.watch/kkxFylsob2/

Watch: https://fb.watch/kkxGAgrfHd/

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