The Select Committee on Social Services welcomes progress achieved by the Eastern Cape Department of Health in implementing the Public Protector’s remedial action.
The remedial action follows the Public Protector’s investigation into the allegation that pregnant women awaiting admission at Gqeberha’s Dora Nginza Regional Hospital for critical caesarean section surgeries were once forced to sleep on the floor and chairs, among other things.
The Public Protector referred the report to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to be debated by the House. The remedial action, which stipulates timelines for the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health and the Head of the Department, is aligned to sections of the South African Constitution.
The report included remedial action relating to the inadequate space in the maternity ward; staff shortages, which has a negative impact on the level of healthcare provided to patients; the absence of a district hospital in the Nelson Mandela Health District; and a lack of medical equipment, such as blood pressure, haemoglobin and cardiotocography machine, dinamap monitors in the postnatal normal vertex ward and infant warmers, among other things.
The committee embarked on an oversight visit yesterday to Dora Nginza Regional Hospital to assess the response and progress of the Eastern Cape health department’s implementation of these remedial actions.
The committee was briefed by the provincial health department, led by the MEC for Health, Ms Ntandokazi Capa, who assured the committee that progress is being achieved in all the areas identified in the Public Protector’s report. However, she also noted that the cost of medico-legal claims remain one of the fundamental challenges facing the department.
Welcoming the briefing, the committee told the department during engagement that although there is reported progress, it was inadequate, as it missed the stipulated timelines. Stakeholders present in the meeting also expressed their concerns about the implementation of remedial action and made other proposals, including that the department should be placed under administration.
The committee expressed its appreciation for the progress achieved thus far but called for even greater efforts to improve healthcare services. Furthermore, the committee Chairperson, Ms Desery Fienies, thanked the stakeholders for participating in the oversight programme. The committee also visited Empilweni Hospital, Livingstone Tertiary Hospital and the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital.
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