POLOKWANE – The Health Department has reignited its programme of turning all capable provincial clinics into 24-hours service providers by declaring 2023 “a year of primary healthcare”.

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 had disrupted the mission, and MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba said she will keep the promise made to Polokwane residents, to provide the needed services at clinics, such as the one in Buite Street.

This serves as a beacon of hope to affected residents of feeder areas such as Westenburg, Nirvana who for years have yearned for the expansion of the current eight-hours daily service.

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“For us to achieve this, we need the 487 appointed community service staff to understand that this profession is not a 08:00-16:30 job. You need to respect community members who come at whatever time, because a health emergency do not occur at a scheduled time.

It is not nice when the community complains about us as health professionals for rendering below par service,” she mentioned.

She said this during a welcome workshop of additional staff at Bolivia Lodge, Polokwane who are inclusive of 170 community service nurses, and 253 medical doctors and 64 pharmacists last Thursday.

According to Ramathuba, the new staff is permanently employed and has already occupied various clinics from February and some by the end of March.

Ramathuba said they are working on the insertions of solar panels to augment electricity during power cuts, and tightening security services.

“We want to take this opportunity to congratulate all our professional nurses who just completed their studies and have joined the department including pharmacists and doctors who were with us during their internship years. We welcome all these medical staff at a time when the department is in full swing towards transformation, to improve access to healthcare especially at primary healthcare level, and in rural areas where we are embarking on a campaign to make sure our clinics render much needed services to the community for 24-hours.” she said.