Clinic takeover on the cards

COME 1 January, uMhlathuze municipal clinics will be officially taken over by the KZN Department of Health.

The decision emanates from the National Health Act (Act 61 of 2003), which places primary healthcare functions with provinces or metros and even district municipalities.

Since 2006, KZN Health delegated primary healthcare responsibilities and administration to uMhlathuze and entered into a service level agreement with the municipality.

The City’s executive committee has since approved the takeover of the municipal primary healthcare services following several meetings with the department and an assessment of the financial implications.

uMhlathuze not only provided an excellent service during the past few years, but also absorbed an extra load by continuing to subsidise the clinics.

In the 2013/14 financial year alone, the City’s actual expenditure on clinic services stood at about R23-million while grant funding only totalled just over R9-million.

uMhlathuze City Health Director, Ziphi Dladla, told the Zululand Observer on Wednesday that the quality and high standard of health services would not deteriorate once managed by the provincial administration.

‘The Department of Health has been renovating clinics throughout the country with new equipment, more nurses and resources, so there will be no problem with the quality of services. Clinic services will continue uninterrupted during the takeover process,’ Dladla said.

She said uMhlathuze clinics had since the 2012/13 financial year experienced a severe turnover of primary health nurses. Out of 21 positions, eleven nurses resigned and joined the provincial health department.

‘The takeover was necessary as since 2011 our municipal nurses were moving to other provinces and it has been difficult to fill these posts. Since the implementation of the Occupation Specific Dispensation in 2007, all nurse’s salaries, except for local government, improved based on their qualifications,’ said Dladla.

Lease

The City Council will further consider province’s request to occupy and utilise all municipal clinic facilities and enter into a lease agreement with the municipality until such time that it secures its own premises.

The uMhlathuze clinic buildings were not built by province. The main clinic structures in Empangeni, Richards Bay Civic Centre and Felixton are attached on the same property as other municipal structures.

The only standalone clinics are Aquadene, Brackenham, Meerensee, Zidedele and the Baptist Church (Empangeni) and they are on a lease agreement between Council and their owners.