Hon Chair, on behalf of the Select Committee on Social Services we would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the hon Von Brandis. I pray to the Lord to bless the departed soul with eternal peace and to give his family the strength and support to cope with their loss. May his soul rest in peace.
The Select Committee on Social Services undertook an oversight visit to the O R Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The purpose of the visit was to check the implementation of the National Health Insurance, NHI, system and its subsequent progress, as the O R Tambo District Municipality is the only one in the Eastern Cape piloting the NHI. The whole committee was present, except that the hon Mathys from the EFF was not part of the delegation from the committee. Because we have a detailed report, I will not go through it, but will go straight to the findings of the committee.
Infrastructure remains a huge problem in the hospitals that were visited, as they are dilapidated. Most buildings need upgrading, except the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. That hospital is state-of-the-art and one facility that we must be proud of in terms of its cleanliness, the building and facilities.
There are issues of the allocation of budgets; poor staff accommodation; the lack of staff complement, with a huge vacancy rate; and difficulties accessing hospitals. Even though all health facilities in the country are within a five kilometre radius, in the rural areas, it is still a challenge because of other issues which are not part of the health sector. For example, poor road conditions mean it takes longer for people to access health facilities. There is also an inefficient and inequitable distribution of resources between the public and private health care sector in relation to the population of the O R Tambo District Municipality.
I will now go straight to the recommendations of the committee. In the main, the following are the crucial issues that need to be taken care of in the O R Tambo District Municipality, in terms of health facilities: upgrading and/or rebuilding of health care facilities, especially the very old Mthatha General Hospital; addressing the challenges caused by the rationalisation process, including the creation and finalisation of organisational structures for institutions or health care facilities; filling of critical clinical and nonclinical posts; installing and/or improving the supply chain management system to better enable the provision of quality in health care services.
In one hospital, we found that the main problem was the issue of understanding the budget. The person heading up the hospital was very open about the fact that they do not understand the budget and found out when we were reading the budget that they had accruals. They started with the budget already owing more than half of the budget that they were allocated. Further issues are improving emergency medical services and making sure that security in some of the hospitals is taken care of.
With those findings we, as a committee, therefore recommend that the detailed report of the oversight visit by the committee be approved by the Council. Thank you.
Debate concluded.
Declarations of vote:
Egameni le-ANC, emva kokuba ikomiti indwendwele uMasipala weSithili i-O R Tambo iye yafumanisa into yokuba kukhona imingeni efana neendlela ezimbi. Baye abathunywa bephondo bazama ukuba badibane nomasipala kunye nabaphathiswa ukuqwalasela lo mba wezi ndlela. Kungoko kulo nyaka mali, uMphathiswa uye wabekela ecaleni imali engangezigidi ezingama-R394,6 ukujonga umcimbi weendlela kwelaa phondo.
Kwakhona, ukuba uya phaya kwesaa sibhedlele saseMthatha esibizwa ngokuba yiNelson Mandela Academic Hospital - umntu owayegqibele esaa sibhedlele sikwimeko engentlanga, uya kuphawula ukuba namhlanje kwelaa candelo labantu abagula ngesifuba - urhulumente waseMzantsi Afrika uye wabeka indawo apho kuxilongwa khona abantu ababefudula besebenza emigodini abasebekhathazwa zizifuba ngoku.
Kwakhona xa ungena ngaphakathi kwesaa sibhedlele, uyakufumanisa ukuba siphuculwe kunohlobo apho abantu ngaphambili babefudula bephila phantsi kwalo. Umzekelo, ukuba uza kungena kwela candelo labagula kakhulu, ufikela kwindawo apho kukho khonna izixhobo zokusebenza zeli xesha. Yiyo loo nto ke ndisenza izifungo kule Ndlu ndisithi kwizinto ezazithe zabonwa zaqwalaselwa yikomiti, ziye zaqapheleka. Enkosi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Ms P C MQUQU: Chairperson, on behalf of the ANC, after the committee visited the O R Tambo District Municipality, it found that there are challenges such as roads that are in a poor condition. Provincial delegates tried to meet with the municipality, as well as the MECs, to address this issue. That is why the Minister is putting aside an amount of R394,6 million, this financial year, to address the issue of road infrastructure in that province.
Furthermore, if one visits the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha - as one who last saw that hospital a while back when it was still in a very bad condition - one will notice today that the South African government has set up a unit where former mineworkers who now suffer from chest diseases can be treated in the chest ward.
Again, when one enters the hospital, one will find that its infrastructure has been improved compared to what the previous conditions were that people were faced with. For example, if one goes to the intensive care unit, one will find that it has been equipped with modern machinery. Today, I can vouch to this august House that everything that was highlighted and considered by the committee on their visit has been addressed. Thank you.]
Sihlalo wale Ndlu, mama uThandi Modise, mandizeke mzekweni nam ndaleke umsundulo kwinto eseyithethwe ngoogxa bam oomama abahloniphekileyo uDlamini noMququ. Ndithi ekwamkeleni kwethu oku sithanda ukuthi ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Ms T G MPAMBO-SIBHUKWANA: Chairperson of this House, the hon Thandi Modise, let me add to what has been said by my colleagues, the hon members Dlamini and Mququ. As we are considering this, we would like to say ...]
... on the consideration of the report of the Select Committee on Social Services on the oversight visit to the O R Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape would like to record the following declaration.
There are still many issues that were noted by the committee in the report and we need to take this into consideration. At the time of the visit to the Nessie Knight Hospital, the committee was told it would be rebuilt. The hon Dlamini reiterated that the refurbishment of that hospital must be done because it is so outdated in terms of the missionary build.
Patients are transported from Bambisana Hospital and St Barnabas Hospital to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, in Mthatha, some distance away. They are waitlisted due to the unavailability of transport. Patients are transported once a week, on a Thursday. Due to the infrequent transport system, patients' lives are put at risk, especially those who are in a critical condition with chronic diseases. There have been incidents of deaths because patients had to wait until a Thursday in order to be attended to at the hospital. How this will be addressed is not stated in the report.
Living quarters for doctors at St Barnabas Hospital are in an appalling condition. This should also be addressed in the report, as doctors are unable to operate at their most effective physical, mental and emotional state. As mentioned by the hon Mququ, the poor road infrastructure to St Barnabas Hospital compromises the critical and timeous departure and arrival of ambulances.
There appears to be no co-ordination between the Department of Health and Department of Transport in the Eastern Cape to address the issue. This has to be taken into account. It is critical that the departments work together, as the situation is detrimental to the health and lives of many poor people within the Eastern Cape. I thank you, Chair.
Is there any other province wishing to make a declaration? Hon Gaehler, you are from the Eastern Cape. Am I to understand that the Eastern Cape is not united on this report?
No, hon Chair, we are united. There is just one small matter. I think it is very important that they say they went to Mthatha General Hospital. The student nurses' home has been closed since 2011 because it needs renovation. I think it is very important. It must be on the report. It is very important, Chairperson.
Thank you, it is important. The Eastern Cape is making an addition to their report. KwaZulu-Natal, were you ...
Hon Chair, I wanted to rise on a point of order but you have ruled on that in a better way, in terms of the Eastern Cape making an addition.
Thank you. Does that mean that no other province wishes to make any declaration and we can therefore proceed, hon Julius?
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.