Committee briefed on the status of Health sector
The Portfolio Committee on Health was today briefed by the Department of Health on the health sector.
In welcoming the presentation of the Department of Health, the Chairperson of the committee, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said: “The presentation fully prepares the committee to focus when conducting its oversight work on the department as the presentation assists the committee to fully understand every issue about the department.”
The presentation of the department included the entities that report to the department. The entities have been scheduled to appear before the committee to make their presentations.
What is important to highlight in the briefing document as presented by the department is the under reporting of some of the success stories that have been achieved by the department.
The committee heard that the programme of mother to child transmission across many provinces is a huge success and improvement of the antenatal visits in 20 weeks of pregnancy is between 60% and 70%.
The committee told the department that the programme must be accelerated. The committee was of the view that it will be important for the department to look into those specific areas that made it to achieve this success.
MomConnect is one of the flagship health projects, which has proven to be useful in educating and encouraging women to take care of themselves and utilise available antenatal services during pregnancy. Dr Dhlomo said, this a programme that needs to be unpacked so as to see the link in maternal mortality since its inception.
The committee called upon the department to focus on the primary healthcare tools that have been instituted, like the school healthcare programme, ideal clinic realization. “It is at primary healthcare that is going to make this country realise National Health Insurance (NHI)”, said Dr Dhlomo.
The committee told the department that the appointment of clinic committees is an area that needs to be looked into, as according to the committee, if members of the clinic committee were appointed correctly, problems experienced in health facilities would be alleviated.
The committee has welcomed the re-orientation of doctors that have been trained in Cuba.
The doctors that have been trained in Cuba have beneficial experiences which orientate them towards primary health care and prevention. Their subsequent training in South Africa is intended to fill skill gaps related to TB, HIV and major trauma.
Some of the members of the committee questioned the feasibility of the programme, but Dr Dhlomo said, when the programme started there was a problem with the medical universities as there was no capacity to accommodate new applicants. However, the department said, it needs to be relooked and assessed if it’s still the case.
Tomorrow (Thursday 29 August 2019) the committee will continue its engagement with the department where the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize will brief the committee on the NHI Bill. The meeting will be held at Good Hope Chambers at 10h30
Enquiries:
Yoliswa Landu
Tel: 021 403 8203
Cell: 081 497 4694
E-mail: ylandu@parliament.gov.za
