'It's nice being called Dr Musa'

IDEAS: Dr Musa Mthombeni shares his thoughts about NHI.

IDEAS: Dr Musa Mthombeni shares his thoughts about NHI.

Published Jul 19, 2018

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Radiology specialist and TV presenter Dr Musa Mthombeni says "it's nice to be called doctor, but it comes with a huge responsibility".

The 28-year-old, who shot to fame as a child-star presenter on SABC1's teen variety show YoTV, says being a doctor has been his childhood dream. He says he aims to have his own practice soon, and to serve the community.

The radiologist, who is popularly known as Dr Musa, explains his field as dealing with X-rays and other high-energy radiation, especially the use of such radiation for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

“It feels nice (being called 'doctor') in a sense that there is a lot of responsibility that comes with being called that. Let's not even lie; it's nice being called 'doctor',” he says.

Dr Musa, who holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, says that if he could be a minister of health for a month, he would tackle the issue of mismanagement in the health sector.

“I would reconcile budgets. See how much money we have and basically look at the budget. I would also get a problem list from all the department heads or whoever, maybe people on the ground saying 'these are the problems we are facing'.

"Then, after looking at that, it's an issue of reconciling and see where the real issues are and fix where I can fix. I would come up with better plans to remedy things urgently.

"I would prioritise things that need special attention and of course cut down on mismanagement and this (money) waste more than anything else,” he says.

Mthombeni says poor South Africans are the most affected when it comes to getting services in the health sector.

“I think the cost of healthcare is ridiculously high. It costs a lot for doctors to be around. It costs a lot for specialists, it costs a lot for medication and it costs a lot for procedures, so it's expensive.

"Those are the challenges. So they become very big play-makers in terms of whether someone is afforded healthcare or not. If you have resources and a job, all you do is take the medical aid, hopefully you have money, and then it pays for you.

“The issue of public healthcare, the cost of running the service, ends up affecting the public or the people who were supposed to be serviced. If all these things cost money, salaries cost money and equipment costs money, and there is no money left, then we can't run the service, which end up costing the patients,” he explains.

Mthombeni, who is very passionate about healthcare, says the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, proposed by Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi, will have a financial impact on the middle class.

“The middle class are already dealing with a lot of issues. There are petrol hikes, and children to go to school. So if you then say to them 'I'm going to take a bit more from you', it really frustrates people.

"And the government doesn't have a good track record with regard to appropriate management of funds.

"So to give them another R100billion to play with, you can understand the reservations from a lot of people.

“The problem about South Africa is that there are not many rich people. Saying rich people will be subsidising for the poor is a bit tricky. What NHI technically says they are going to do is that not only the rich, but also the middle class, will pay for it.

"Taxpayers are already frustrated. When you look at your payslip and see that a certain amount of money has gone to tax, you want to see service in your community.

"Every day there is a power cut, every day there is no water or your rubbish is not collected, and people are on the edge,” he says.

The doctor is currently working at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, as well as being a presenter on SABC3's TrendingSA, a night-time show that tackles topics doing the rounds on social media.

@SthembisoMedia

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