opening of the Hillbrow Community Health Centre
26 June 2006
Programme Director,
Our Acting Head of Department Dr Rahman,
Managers,
Pastor Themba Ngwenya,
Health professionals,
Ladies and gentlemen;
We gave gathered here this morning to witness another milestone in our
ongoing efforts to ensure the availability of good health services closer to
our community, to improve the quality of these services and to build a strong,
responsive, responsible and caring public health care system in our
province.
As government we have identified the building of a strong primary health
care system as a cornerstone of our national health system. And as a result we
have undertaken a programme to build health facilities such as this one closer
to where people live.
Currently clinics are being built in Bophelong, Eersterus, Bekkersdal,
Eldorado Park, Cullinan and Sebokeng. This will make it easier for people to
have access to care in their communities.
As we build these facilities we are at the same time paying attention to
ensuring that there is a good supply of medicine to these facilities, that they
have equipment and that they have adequate numbers of staff.
Last week we issued a circular advising all managers on filling all critical
posts budgeted for this year. We have also embarked on an aggressive
recruitment and retention drive to attract health professionals into the public
services. Our target is to recruit 2 300 nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other
allied professionals this year.
We have listened to the concerns by our communities who have said that the
nurses at the clinics should be assisted by doctors. We have considered that
and have decided to appoint family physicians in our clinics to improve the
quality of care.
Other important issues that we must ensure that we pay attention to are the
long queues and the attitude of our staff. I am prepared to acknowledge that
our health professionals do a lot of good work sometimes under trying
circumstances but their good work is undermined by our inability to properly
manage the queues. I still do not understand why our systems are manual and
paper based when the technology to handle patients is now readily available and
is affordable.
It seems to me that unless we place patients at the centre of everything
that we do in our clinics and hospitals, we will not be able to change the
perception that health professionals in the public sector are cold, callous and
do not care about their patients. I know that this is not true but it is a
perception that exists and it will only change when we start giving patients a
different experience of service and when we embrace a people centred work
ethos.
The opening of this new Hillbrow community health centre should therefore
mark a change in the way we do business. This centre is important because it is
the only one of its size in the inner city and it serves as a referral facility
for Johannesburg Hospital.
If this health centre works well, Johannesburg Hospital will also work much
better. I have been told that the maternity and obstetrics unit in this centre
is already having a positive impact on the maternity unit at Johannesburg
Hospital as pregnant mothers who have no complications are not being cared for
here.
This centre plays an important role not only in protecting the health of our
people but in law enforcement as well. The role of the medico-legal clinic that
is based here must be commended for performing good quality forensic
examinations on rape survivors. Many rapists and a serial killer have been sent
to jail thanks to the professional forensic evidence collected and presented by
the staff of our medico-legal clinic. The blood of drunken drivers arrested in
Johannesburg over the weekends is tested here and this therefore also helps in
removing dangerous motorists from the roads.
It is my wish that the commitment, dedication and passion of the
professionals working in this medico-legal clinic can be replicated by all our
staff.
Thank you!
Issued by: Department of Health, Gauteng Provincial Government
26 June 2006
