Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo painted a rosy picture of the state of the province’s health department at the provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
In a department that has been plagued by lawsuits and mounting cases of fraud and corruption, the MEC indicated it was not all gloom and doom, and that there were many silver linings in terms of health service delivery initiatives.
But first, the MEC addressed several shocking incidents involving women and children in the province, at a time when the country was observing 16 Days of Activism for no Violence Against Women and Children.
The first incident last month involved a nurse who was shot dead as she left the KwaDabeka Community Health Centre where she worked. She had just finished her shift when she was gunned down by unknown assailants.
A few days later, a 10-year-old girl from Inchanga was raped, stabbed more than 20 times and left for dead. She miraculously survived the gruesome attack and was recuperating at RK Khan Hospital.
Dhlomo also referred to an attack earlier this month on a defenceless 4-year-old girl who was molested at Greytown Hospital in the Midlands.
The girl had been among a group of people who were visiting a patient at the hospital.
Thanks to the vigilance of security guards, the 23-year-old attacker was caught in the act and was arrested on the spot.
The MEC said he was shocked and saddened by the incidents and committed the department of health to continuing the fight against the abuse of women and children.
The MEC then went on to address one of the most talked about initiatives in the province; Implanon, aimed at decreasing the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy and illegal abortions in the province.
Last year, the department revealed that 21 000 girls under 18 visited state hospitals for antenatal care.
This was almost 10 percent of all the women who visited these facilities for antenatal care in the same period.
The hardest-hit area was identified as the uMkhanyakude district, on the North Coast, where teenage mothers-to-be made up 11.28 percent of those visiting state hospitals for antenatal care.
The department considers the district the most rural and impoverished in the province.
Teenage pregnancies were least common in eThekwini, where just under 8 percent of the pregnancy care cases visiting state hospitals were under 18.
The MEC said that in the face of these statistics, the Implanon campaign was launched in the country in October last year.
In KZN, the demand for the contraceptive implant was very high and was the contraceptive of choice.
“The total number of Implanon inserted between November 2013 and September this year is 189 503,” Dhlomo said, adding that the age group with the highest demand was women between 18 and 25.
The implant takes less than a minute to insert and is conducted under local anaesthetic.
It lasts three years and women do not have to return to the clinic until it needs to be removed.
Referring to the shortage of medical professionals in the province, Dhlomo said it was worth noting that 85 medical students had completed their studies with the Cuban medical training programme and were now serving at various healthcare institutions across the province.
KZN has 702 students studying in Cuba at present, and last week, 96 more students left for Cuba to begin their studies.
“Come 2019, when all would have returned, the KZN rural communities will have their fair share of doctors,” the MEC said.
Also adding to the health professionals pool are 2 523 nurses who graduated in September this year.
The MEC also confirmed that the national department of health and national treasury had approved an additional R200 million for the KZN department’s infrastructure budget, increasing the budget to R1.679 billion.
“The additional funds will be used mainly to assist the department with maintenance of facilities and equipment and to kick-start the construction of the Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Regional Hospital which is due to commence later this month.”
Last month, auditor-general, Kimi Makwetu, revealed that irregular expenditure by KZN government departments had risen to R4.33 billion, with Health, Education and Arts and Culture responsible for 93 percent of this.
Dhlomo said that he hoped he would be able to report a different story in terms of the health department’s audit outcome in the near future.
“We have committed to following the directive given by national health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, that we hold regular meetings with the AG to get guidance, support and advice to ensure that this is not repeated,” the MEC said.
Daily News