ease the backlog in hospital visits by patients
6 March 2009
Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the launch of the
Public Healthcare (PHC) telemedicine partnership initiative between Free State
Department of Health, MTN South Africa foundation and MRC (Medical Research
Council) to be held at the Botshabelo District Hospital in Bloemfontein on
Thursday, 12 March 2009.
Telemedicine has been hailed as a new technology that would ease patient
backlogs facing South Africaâs state hospitals. While public healthcare systems
worldwide suffer from general budgetary and resource limitations, these
backlogs are caused more particularly by a lack of specialised services in
district and regional hospitals. The result is that patients incur the expense
of travelling to tertiary hospitals for time consuming one on one specialist
diagnosis. (Telemedicine Fact Sheet attached).
Members of the media will be given time beforehand to view the telemedicine
workstation and will receive a briefing about the machine by Ms Jill
Fortuin-Abrahams, the Acting Director of Telemedicine at the South African
Medical Research Council.
The Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Derek Hanekom, the MEC for
health in the Free State, Mr Sakhiwo Belot, the MRC President, Prof Anthony
Mbewu, and MTN SA foundation Chief Corporate Officer, Mr Z Masiza, as well as
officials from the Departments of Health and Science and Technology are all
attending the official launch.
Date: 12 March 2009
Time: 13h00 to 15h30
Venue: Botshabelo District Hospital, Bloemfontein
Please RSVP by Tuesday, 10 March 2009 with:
Gela Van Heerden
Tel: 051 408 1278
Fax: 051 408 1055
Cell: 082 381 9483
E-mail: vheerdenep@fshealth.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Health, Free State Provincial Government
6 March 2009
