Hon Chairperson and all protocol observed, it is a privilege to address this House on the occasion of the Budget Vote for Health. We have made a great deal of progress, but much still has to be done, and the ANC-led government is determined to deliver on its election promises. In this regard, we will be working harder to deliver on the mandate the majority of South Africans gave the ANC.
Our health reform strategy aims to improve performance, efficiency and optimal quality of service. To achieve this it requires improvement in management, performance monitoring and accountability.
As part of the 10-point plan for health there will be a review and refining of the department's human resource plan for health that is due for completion by March 2010. The Department of Health will then assist provinces with finalising their plans.
We welcome this commitment, which is in line with the research commissioned by the Department for Public Service and Administration, DPSA, in 2005 and also the research undertaken by the National Labour and Economic Development Institute, Naledi, on behalf of Nehawu, which was titled, "Transforming Chris Hani Baragwanath into a people's hospital." Chris Hani Baragwanath is the biggest hospital in the southern hemisphere and, as a test case, is plagued by staff shortages, lack of funding, resource mismanagement, low staff morale and poor accountability.
If the 10-point plan is implemented, it will address the issue of doctors leaving patients after operating on them without stitching them up - as happened at Chris Hani Baragwanath in March of this year - because of a lack of drips and other resources.
The department has produced a draft disaster management plan during the 2008-09 terms and, over the next Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, will produce an integrated disaster management plan as prescribed by the Disaster Management Act. The plan will be phased in, with the first phase being implemented during the 2009-10 period by the national Department of Health and all nine provincial departments.
Phase two will also be implemented during 2009-10 and will involve 45 preidentified hospitals for 2010. An additional 200 hospitals will implement the plan by the end of the MTEF period. We commend the department for budgeting zero for consultants and hope that provinces will copy this.
I am concerned that the emergency medical service plan will not be ready in time for the Fifa World Cup that will take place in our country in 2010. Once again, progress is being hampered by the lack of resources, particularly in rural areas and townships. The problem lies with the inadequate funding of health. I have to emphasise that health, as a key priority for this administration, has to be given particular consideration with regards to funding.
Of concern, as well, is the scarce skills problem that prevails in our health care facilities. We have recently experienced the strike by doctors over unfavourable working conditions and salaries. I am grateful that we are now returning to normal and our people can once again enjoy the service of our health professionals.
The occupation-specific dispensation, OSD, has been implemented for nurses and the 2009-10 period will see the turn of the doctors, dentists, pharmacists and emergency services staff. I hope we will see a speedy and amicable solution to this issue come 25 July 2009.
It is interesting to note that the department introduced some mid-level categories such as pharmacy assistants and physiotherapy assistants who are being categorised as subprofessionals. This, I believe, will go a long way towards relieving the burden of work on our health professionals.
Cuban doctors, who are here serving in a government-to-government capacity, received a three-year extension on their treaty permits, as well as their registration with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa, HPCSA, in 2008. This is most welcome and offers some relief to our problem of scarce skills.
Thirty-six Tunisian doctors were also appointed and deployed to five provinces in 2008. We welcome the refinement of the HR plan for health and the specification of staff shortages and training targets for the next five years that would contribute towards the creation of jobs and the filling of vacancies.
Opening up colleges to train nurses is ongoing and will assist in alleviating the scarce skills shortage in the long term. In the interim, the government will have to continue to enter into treaty agreements with countries that have surplus health professionals. As outlined in our manifesto, this will contribute towards ensuring that there are no long queues at our hospitals. The challenges remain huge and complex, but we cannot be distracted by the enormity of the task at hand.
In conclusion, I refer to an article in today's Sowetan, which claims that close to 40 million people in South Africa do not have medical aid. A case in point is the one that happened last week, when a domestic worker was knocked down in Sandton by a car driven by a soccer player. The paramedics phoned Charlotte Maxeke hospital, but were told that it was full and too far from the scene of the accident. They phoned Baragwanath hospital, and were told that it, too, was full. They then decided to call Morningside clinic, which was just a stone's throw from where the accident had occurred.
Had the soccer player needed hospitalisation, the paramedics would not have hesitated to phone Morningside, as the soccer player would have been able to pay the medical bill. The domestic worker, however, was made to wait until the paramedics could phone all the public hospitals, because she did not have money at hand or access to medical aid. Those paramedics thus violated the constitutional rights of the patient. We hope that the Gauteng province and the Department of Health will bring the culprits to book.
I want to close my presentation by saying this: We welcome the implementation of the National Health Insurance system. We hope that it will contribute towards access to quality public health by all the working class. We are awaiting the speedy implementation of the National Health Insurance system and of the Private Patients' Plan, PPP. I thank you. [Applause.]