Keynote address by MEC Dr Magome Masike during the Graduation Ceremony of the North West Province Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) College held in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, Orkney
Programme Director,
Executive Mayor for Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality,
The HOD, Dr Thabo Lekalakala,
DDG for Health Services, Kgosi Konrad Motlhabane,
Other Executive Managers of the Department in attendance,
MMCs and Councilors
Members of our Governance Structures,
National Department of Health Representatives,
Hospital CEO’s
Principal of the EMRS College,
College staff,
Graduates, Families and friends of the graduates, and the congregation at large,
Distinguished guests and dignitaries,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, Sanibonani, Dumelang, Goeie more, Molweni,
It is always a great pleasure to come to this colleague particularly in a special occasion like this one. This college is symbolic of our intended purpose of producing a new breed of health work force to tackle challenges faced by our people on the ground and remove them from decades of deprivation of colonialism and apartheid. This college started with training in 2003 when it was accredited by the Health Professions Council of South Africa to present the Basic Ambulance Assistance course and I am also grateful to see that it is growing from strength to strength. To me, this progress if confirmation of the undertaking that the African National Congress (ANC) made in its National Health Plan for South Africa that “emergency medical services will be available throughout the country at all times”.
Today, we are here to continue to make this undertaking of the ANC government even more real. In order to provide adequate emergency medical services, we need more Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) vehicles (the red fleet) and then we need trained human resource. We are here to produce more of the much needed human resources for EMRS. We are brought together here today to give recognition to students who have achieved and those who we believe are ready to go and make a difference in our communities.
I wish to encourage the management of this college to continue to build on the successes we have attained thus far. As we can all bear witness today, the college is showing commitment and dedication to continue training emergency care personnel in this professional qualification and produce these highly skilled cadres. I want you to be developmental and transformational activists who will improve the delivery of emergency medical care services to our communities.
I thank parents, friends and family for their continuous support to the graduates. Without your support they would most probably not be here today. Emergency Medical Services in general is quite a unique profession with a variety of pressures and challenging environments, therefore wellbeing and support for these personnel is critically vital and we thank you for that. The department will equally continue to support your and make your working conditions favourable.
It is however, equally important to warn the graduates about a lot of complains related to Emergency Medical Services that the department continues to receive time after time. The common complaint is that our ambulances arrive late when called to attend emergencies or in some cases they do not pitch up at all. There are even suspicions among some of our stakeholders that some of the cases of medical negligence are associated with negligent ambulance drivers. I can also confirm that the department has also previously dealt with cases of negligent driving on the part of our drivers. The end results of this negligent behaviour has been that some of our ambulances spent more time in garages being serviced when they are supposed to be attending to emergencies on the road. This has led to substantial shortfall of our red fleet. Just know that EMRS vehicles are not for personal use, they are not for shopping groceries or for delivering beverages to taverns. I must warn that negligence is not tolerated and I will not hesitate to deal with those who will step out of the line.
We need to understand that EMRS is a critical service that is much needed by our people. In rural areas it is even more of a dire need because sometimes victims of accidents might be far away from health facilities. EMRS is often a matter of life and death and your conduct and attitude might decide the fate of patients.
Know that in health you are called to serve. As your graduate here today, be ready for the serious task ahead of you. Your job is to save lives and do it passionately to the best of your ability. Go out there into the field and serve your people with pride!
It is vital to remember that as emergency care graduates from this institution your core function will be to service the community. You need to at all times remember where you all came from, and be grateful for this opportunity which was bestowed upon you. I would once again like to strongly discourage all of you not to consider employment outside the North West province and the public service as you were the chosen ones and were prepared as cadres who will service our communities with respect, pride, compassion and professionalism irrespective of their race, gender, social background and economical status. Remember the professional, moral and financial obligations you have taken upon yourselves. Always put forward the plight and anguish of those who solely rely on your expertise and service in order to reach the health facilities.
Let your actions be guided by the principles of Batho Pele:
- Serve the public in an unbiased and impartial manner in order to create confidence in the health service;
- Be polite and helpful when dealing the public and treat them as clients who are entitled to receive high standards of service;
- Have regard for the concerns and circumstances of the public when making decisions
You have made the right decision and the correct career choice. I wish to once again congratulate you for having shown commitment to serve the people. I also take this opportunity to thank all the Emergency Medical Services management for selecting and producing the caliber of personnel that is ever prepared to serve beyond the call of duty.
I hope that many of you will continue to study further through one of the pioneer programmes of the College, the Emergency Care Technician to Emergency Care Practitioner Degree Bridging programme. Let me also announce that these graduates will be the last to complete the ECT NQF level 05 qualification. The National Emergency Care, Education and Training policy provides for a new three tier system of Emergency Care Qualification to be introduced in 2016. This means the new ECT qualification has been upgraded to NQF level 06. However, this new development will not in any way affect the graduates negatively as they will still be able to progress with further studies within the same field of Emergency Medical Care.
I would like to thank the college staff for all the hard work, patience and efforts in producing the caliber of graduates that are sitting here today. All the effort of the facilitators would have been fruitless if you did not put in the hard work yourself. Sitting here is proof of long hours spent towards studying and sharpening your skills in emergency medical care. We can all agree that all the sleepless nights and tireless days were well worth the effort and you will reap the rewards in your career.
The North West Department of Health in conjunction with the EMRS College prides itself with producing graduates that are proud representatives of the emergency medical services. The college has always been committed to producing cadres who conduct themselves with respect for others, dignity, professionalism and compassion.
I would like to thank the Director EMS, Principal of the College, and his team for humbling me with the invitation to address the congregation at this graduation ceremony.
I wish you well in all your future endeavours.
I thank you!
