Taung Hospital reaches 100 patients cured of MDR-TB
The North West Department of Health MEC, Dr Magome Masike is congratulating Taung District Hospital's MDR-TB unit for reaching 100 cured MDR-TB patients. Taung Hospital’s Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) TB Unit was officially opened in March 2013 but has in a short space of time since become one of the leading MDR-TB curing unit in the country together with Klerksdorp-Tshepong Hospital MDR-TB unit. The unit is a component of the Department’s MDR TB decentralisation model that seeks to treat patients next to their home.
“I congratulate Taung District Hospital for making us proud with yet another milestone success. I am happy at the progress that we are making in the fight against TB as a province. Our track record speaks for itself. Remember the North West Province is also the first to cure an XDR TB Patient”, said MEC Dr Magome Masike.
Responding to this milestone, the TB Manager at Taung District Hospital, Dr Ndiviwe Mphothulo who was last year awarded the Rural Doctor of the Year by the Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa (RuDASA) said, “I have received multiple individual awards for service excellence, but I could not have done it without a competent and diligent team. Our team got great remarks from the World Health Organisation (WHO) auditing team last year and I am happy that we are continuing to do well”.
The fight against TB in the province continues to record positive outcomes. The province’s overall TB treatment outcome has improved from 40.3% to 69.8% (i.e. over 20% cure rate) with patients defaulting treatment also showing a decrease from 10,8% to 7.8% in the past three years. The MDR cure rate in the province currently stands at 65% while XDR is standing at 16.1%. However, there is still a need to urge those who are receiving treatment to complete the course as prescribed by health professionals.
Taung District Hospital MDR-TB Unit has become a turning point in the fight against multi drug resistant drug TB in the North West Province. Apart from curing reaching 100 cured MDR-TB patients, Taung District Hospital also cured an XDR patient in 2013. The Unit credits its success to the dedicated team of Health Professionals, who work under the auspices of the Department of Internal Medicine.
“I urge our people to partner with us in the fight against TB. We have also placed a lot of our focus on mining communities and correctional services. We will continue to depend on Teams of healthcare workers, Directly Observed Therapy Supporters and developmental partners for Intensified Tuberculosis (TB) Case Finding in villages and towns across the province. The major component of Intensified TB Case Finding is TB screening and those found to have TB symptoms will be referred to the nearest health facility”, said MEC Masike.
Intensified TB Case Finding has been identified as one of the key priority areas critical to the success of Department’s effort to promote greater community involvement in disease management, community development, and empowerment to deal with own health issues and promote an integrated healthcare management system.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Department Spokesperson
Cell: 082 929 9958
Email: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
