15 August 2006
The North West Department of Health would continue to extend access to
quality healthcare to the people around Madibeng (Brits) area despite the
allegations of sceptics who want people to believe that there is a crisis in
the hospital.
We want to reassure the people of Madibeng that we are not aware of any
police investigations about the alleged commissioning of the X-ray machine and
that we will further investigate the origins of these allegations. The
department is also aware that there are allegations that in terms of the
sceptics there are 34 reported cases of neo-natal deaths in the hospital in the
last six months. We wish to once more state that this allegation is not only
unfounded but a deliberate misrepresentation of facts.
The facts are that there are only four reported cases of neo-natal death in
the last six months and the alleged figure of 33 is recorded as a figure for
the entire last financial year which is 2004/05. The department wants to
confirm that indeed itâs true that the hospital has not had an effective
theatre for the last three years. However, this on its own does not constitute
a crisis, as all patients that require theatre services, including operations,
are referred to Odi Hospital which is only about 30 kilometres from Brits.
It is also true that the hospital only has 23 professional nurses when
actually it needed 40; it is also true that the hospital has 10 doctors, four
of which are community service doctors. A shortage of health professionals is a
challenge that is quite synonymous with developing countries like ours.
It requires collective wisdom of our people to ensure that our professionals
are retained and their level of patriotism is also incentivised. This we have
done by introducing some measures like rural allowance and scarce skills
allowance. It is also a matter that our government is engaging with first world
countries not to perpetuate under-development by tapping in the very little
skills we have, but at least find a better way of resolving this challenge.
It is norm in most of our hospitals that patients that are terminally ill
and those that are restless are being recommended to sleep on the floor to
avoid the risk of having them falling, especially in cases where there is
shortages of cot beds as a results of an unexpected overflow of patients at a
particular time. The Brits Hospital was historically designed for a few
privileged minorities with only 50 beds. It is only now that the department is
planning to build a new 200-bed hospital through our hospital, and have a
revitalisation programme as part of addressing the many regrettable legacies of
the past.
We also want to make it categorically clear that no one is allowed to bath
patients in the hospital except when authorised by a relevant official or in
cases where that is done with love. If it is found that patients are being
bathed by outsiders without proper authorisation, corrective measures will be
taken against any one involved, especially those responsible personnel at the
time.
In conclusion the Department of Health in the North West values the
important role that media play in our society and the relations we have with
that community has been that of information. We also wish to continue to
strengthen this relations to ensure that our people are indeed fed with
accurate information and avoid making allegations facts.
Media enquiries:
Mr Isaac Mokaila
Tel: (018) 387 5813
Cell: 073 742 3906
Enquiries:
Zakes Molala
Acting Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: (018) 387 5830
Fax: (018) 387 5830
E-mail: lmolala@nwpg.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Health, North West Provincial Government
15 August 2006
Source: North West Department of Health (http://www.nwhealth.gov.za)
