Dept of Health exploited – Foreigners suck system dry

Allegations of things not always being in order at the Department of Health’s facilities across the province are by now nothing new any more. Claims that Zimbabwean nationals are allegedly milking the province’s already ailing public healthcare system as they cross the border for high-priced medical procedures and chronic medication administered free of charge this side of the border, should come as a shock to Limpopo taxpayers though.
As they are classified as asylum-seekers, scores of Zimbabwean citizens in possession of the required patient cards issued by the Department of Health in Limpopo are suspected of crossing over into South Africa for their monthly scripts, treatment and procedures without any monetary contribution expected in return.
A Polokwane-based healthcare professional shed light on the matter when relating the scenario of Zimbabwean nationals receiving medication, costly treatment and undergoing expensive surgical procedures of up to an estimated R200 000 at a time from public healthcare facilities in the province as well as through the Department of Health’s system. The ones who couldn’t make it to collect their medication themselves sent others to collect their scripts on their behalf, the source elaborated.
For this they were not being charged and it was all continuing in the absence of a clear-cut government policy or an existing billing system in place, Polo­kwane Observer was informed.
It was stipulated that all patients received treatment when knocking on the door of a public healthcare facility in Limpopo, irrespective of their country of origin. The source further pointed out that all foreigners were being treated as asylum-seekers.
With the situation having continued on and off for a while now, it was a known fact that health-wise South Africa was perceived to be looking after the whole of southern Africa, the doctor stressed.
From a different corner it was reiterated that the South African Constitution compelled the Department of Health to render services to all who crossed the threshold of a public healthcare facility, no matter their nationality. It seemingly leaves the department and its officials in a predicament as it is faced by Constitutional imperatives, a situation that in turn strains its over-burdened workforce which is facing their own challenges and impacts on limited monetary resources.
Whereas the healthcare professional who drew attention to the problem underscored a prevailing situation in Polokwane, another source singled out the public health facilities in Musina as mostly affected by the demand for medical services by foreign nationals.
Considering the fact that South Africa had one of the most talked-about Constitutions in the world that granted patients access to quality healthcare, it made its people victims of their own good in a way, he added.
Ironically Polokwane Observer was alerted about the state of affairs at a time when the Department of Health reportedly battled with rendering radiography services at Polokwane State Hospital on the weekend, due to 30% overtime reportedly having been exhausted by then. (See story elsewhere).
In commenting on foreigners being given equal public healthcare treatment to that reserved for South Africans, Health Department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said it was a well-known fact that foreign nationals coming across the borders put pressure on resources. It was not a phenomenon in Limpopo alone, but also in other cross-border provinces, he added. It was a Constitutional issue more than anything else, as the South African Constitution granted access to public healthcare to all and a patient was not even required to produce an identification document if in need of medical help, he further remarked. The proposed National Health Insurance system – that is supposed to ensure essential healthcare for all citizens in future – was expected to draw the line with regards to the dichotomy between citizens and non-citizens, Shikwambana concluded.
Comment is still awaited from the Provincial Secretary of the South African Medical Association (Sama) in Limpopo, Seshoka Muila.

Story: YOLANDE NEL
>>observer.yolande@gmail.com