-
The Gauteng Health Department says it’s attending to the recommendations made by the Health Ombud about the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
The Health Ombud has recommended that the infrastructure at Helen Joseph hospital in Johannesburg be revamped.
The Office of Health Standards Compliance and the Health Ombud released the findings of an investigation into allegations of bad treatment by health workers and broadcaster Thomas Holmes, also known as Tom London.
London posted videos of himself complaining about the bad treatment by healthcare workers and the state of the hospital.
Health Ombud Professor Taole Mokoena says, “About infrastructure, they must prioritise refurbishment. For example, the sewage system and the water supply. They should get resident artisans to be appointed at the hospital to carry out ongoing maintenance. Currently, there are no artisans there. They get seconded on a day to day, week by week.”
However, the Gauteng Health Department says it’s attending to the recommendations made by the Health Ombud about the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
The ombud notes shortages in linen and other necessities in the hospital. Some of the other challenges related to human resources, lack of governance, staff shortages and cleanliness.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba says work is being done by the department to attend to issues raised by the report.
“It must be pointed out that the Department has already initiated province-wide interventions that are aimed at addressing the identified issues and beyond. These interventions include the reviewing of the organisational structure, which is currently awaiting approval processes, while the infrastructure function within the department has been strengthened with the appointment of a Deputy Director General which has led to the development of a comprehensive maintenance and upgrade programme including procurement of health technology, and the process of filling the CEO post.”
Health Ombud Findings | Allegations against Helen Joseph Hospital
Efficient healthcare system
Health Activist Dr Kgosi Letlape says there should be no NHI without a well-functioning public health system. Letlape says using existing resources properly is the answer to an efficient healthcare system.
“You can’t have Actors all over the place. You need to have introduced line budgeting. From the budget of the hospital, we know how much goes to security, how much goes to maintenance, how much goes to human resources, how much goes to equipment, and how much goes to drugs. If we can’t do that, the problems will just become compounded. We had a public healthcare system that was far better than the private system in the past. Because systems were in place. You just needed people on site to implement in accordance with the system. And you were able to judge their performance based on the template that everyone has been given.”
