Members of the media.
In the past few days, Mankweng Hospital was in the media, particularly The Sowetan newspaper for all the wrong reasons, including allegations of high mortality rate, poor management, lack of supervision, lack of essential equipment and suppliers.
Following these reports and allegations, as the Minister of Health I promptly appointed a high level task team to fully investigate.
The Mankweng Task Team consists of the following members:
- Dr Terence Carter: CEO – Groote Schuur Hospital (Chairperson)
- Prof Jack Moodley: Chair – Ministerial Committee on confidential enquiries into maternal mortality
- Dr David Greenfield: Medical Officer – Neonatalogy
- Prof Jack Wing: Chief Specialist – Charlotte Maxeke hospital
- Ms Dolly Nyasulu: Advanced Midwife – PATH
- Mr Mohammed Latif: Procurement Specialist – SARS
- Ms Annie Jautse: Quality Assurance (NDoH) – Scribe.
This team has completed its work and handed the report to me and therefore I have decided to release the findings and recommendations to the public today.
Before I read out the report of the task team – I need to express my deepest disappointment to learn that most of the findings are not necessarily new as they feature prominently in the Risk Assessment report presented to management of the Limpopo Provincial Department of Health in August 2012.
I am told that when the team arrived in the province to conduct this investigation, they were presented with a copy of the Risk assessment report in respect to the same hospital – Mankweng Hospital. From the information at our disposal, the report (Risk Assessment) is as a result of an investigation which was demanded by labour unions.
In essence, the unions experienced these problems long ago even before the newspaper started reporting on them. The contents of the Risk Assessment Report of August 2012 are also cited by the Mankweng Task Team Report and therefore cannot be ignored.
Mankweng report:
It is very clear from this Task Team Report that a comprehensive forensic and further investigation still needs to be undertaken to get to the bottom the problems. Plans are ahead to institute such forensic investigation as recommended by the Task Team Report.
We are aware that the former Acting CEO of Mankweng Hospital, Mr Pule Monale has resigned from the public service. He resigned when I demanded that he be put on precautionary suspension due to the seriousness of the allegations. His resignation not withstanding, he will still be subjected to a forensic investigation as the report indicate and then the law will take its course accordingly.
In the meantime, some of the immediate recommendations have to be implemented without hesitation and of course with immediate effect. These include the following:
- The immediate suspension of Mr Khangala – Senior Manager: Finance.
- Discliplinary action to be taken against Mr Mashao.
- Progressive disciplinary steps to be instituted against Mr N.S Nkgau and Mr T. Maseleme.
- The present acting CEO to determine urgent needs of all essentials including basic items such as Blood pressure machines, Cardiotocography machines and Fetoscopes and take urgent corrective action.
- Repairs and maintenance work will be done urgently and the acting CEO will lead that process.
The report also pointed us to weaknesses in the management of the Department of Health in Limpopo. I together with the Premier and MEC for Health will look closely into this issue and prescribe what needs to be done.
While this report was commissioned for Mankweng Hospital, it is clear that the same findings may also apply to Polokwane Provincial hospital as they operate as a single complex under same management that is implicated in Mankweng.
Hence, I must state that the unbundling of the Polokwane/Mankweng Hospital complex as instructed by the National Department of Health and further recommended by the present task team report is going to be no easy task. It is not going to be an event but a process. We are however determined to see it to completion.
It is also clear to me that both Polokwane Provincial Hospital and Mankweng Hospital needs a massive management and systems re-construction and this also may take time to complete.
I must say though, we are equal to the task. I am going to put together a dedicated special team to undertake the task of reconstructing management and indeed systems in these two hospitals.
I wish take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders and appeal to them to work together with everybody involved in the process of bringing normality to the two institutions.
Having presented this report on Mankweng Hospital, I like to remind you that not long ago, I was in this very province about another hospital – The George Masebe Hospital.
Which one is next?
It is clear that there is a problem in the Department of Health in Limpopo. Time and again, we do come across people, patients, relatives, members of the public sometimes even some civil servants who believe that this problems are a result of section 100 (b). Actually, it is the other way round. Section 100 came because there are problems and what is happening in the health institutions is the manifestation of these problems.
I am hereby announcing to you that a joint team of the National Department of Health and the Minister Chabane’s Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency will soon arrive in Limpopo. The team will visit hospital by hospital to do monitoring and evaluation work in order to create a framework for government to deal with these problems once and for all.
I have asked the Premier to appoint people from the Premier’s office to be part of this team.
I thank you!
