Johannesburg – A strained health care system, shortage of health professionals, poor management, high burden of diseases and an increasing medical malpractice civil claims in South Africa were a “recipe for a revolution” and needed urgent attention, union SA Medical Association said on Friday.
The union said the “broken healthcare system” affected everyone and that it was time for action.
“We do not have the luxury of politicking and long studies, but we need to chose our options and implement them. Whilst ,we understand that there will be no overnight perfection of the system, we need to start now,” the union said in a statement.
“We can never build a good economy on the back of a broken healthcare system. This current stagnation needs to be broken and some decisive action is needed to achieve a good economy that will also help us afford a good healthcare system.”
The union demanded the expansion of government’s National Health Insurance pilot sites to include private general practitioners, whom it said had always been the backbone of primary healthcare in South Africa.
Structures in health care that do not add value should be removed immediately and broken ones fixed.
“We should immediately identify those willing and capable of improving access and quality of health services such as screening, diagnosis and management of non-communicable diseases, immunisation of children, HIV, STIs, cervical cancer screening and the total package of preventative and responsive primary healthcare,” the union said.
“Government should provide the necessary equipment, treatment and support, and private general practitioners should provide professional and caring services.”
Accountability, transparency and good distribution of limited health resources should be the cornerstone of a much needed new action plan, said the union.
African News Agency