Hon Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members and guests present, I stand here on behalf of Cope to express our support for the Bill under discussion. The reason for our support is that we believe the Office of Health Standards Compliance will ensure that quality health care is guaranteed at all health institutions in the country.
Cope supports this Bill because it empowers South Africans to challenge mediocrity and bad service within the health sector. They will be able to do this with the assurance that all investigations will be done by an independent and impartial institution. Cope supports this Bill because the public and private health services will be held equally accountable.
I look forward to the ombud's investigation and report on how and why private health institutions find it morally acceptable to exhaust a patient's medical aid and then chuck them out of their facilities as soon as the funds are exhausted.
Cope supports the Bill because it creates mechanisms to protect and promote the health and safety of the users of health services, as stated in clause 78 of the Bill. This will be done by enforcing and monitoring compliance with norms and standards. In this regard, health professionals and management should understand that it cannot be business as usual. Cope supports this Bill because the ombud will have to be independent, impartial and accountable.
In terms of clause 81A(9), the ombud must submit a report on appropriate action, together with his or her recommendations, to the chief executive officer of the Office of Health Standards Compliance. Once the investigation is finalised, the ombud is expected to inform the complainant, the respondent - or both -regarding the findings and recommendations. The Bill has an impact on how health services will be provided or delivered. As a result, the Minister of Health has a huge responsibility to ensure that the men and women he will be appointing as members of the board, as the chief executive officer of the Office of Health Standards Compliance and as the ombud are people with credibility and honour.
The Minister should be conscious of the fact that a lack of consequence for poor performance and for transgression results in mediocrity being regarded as an acceptable standard. The consequence of this unacceptable way of doing things is that the quality of health care provision is compromised.
Those who will be appointed in terms of this Bill should be conscientised to the fact that institutional credibility is vital to the confidence of the public. Credibility is required from institutions like the Office of Health Standards Compliance. In this regard, it is important that the ombud should not only become independent and impartial but should also be seen to be independent and impartial. [Applause.]