Old Assembly Chamber, 30th June 2009

Honourable Chairperson,

The aim of the Department of Health is to promote the health of all people in South Africa through an accessible, caring and high quality health system. If one looks at the state of our health care system and the service that people actually get from it, then I am afraid that the Department is failing in its efforts to reach this aim.

Government hospitals and clinics are generally in a run down state and short of equipment and medicines. Anyone who has ever been to a government hospital or clinic would have experienced first hand just how unpleasant this visit actually is. People have to wait for hours sometimes just to get medical attention and many people who are admitted to these hospitals are neglected and end up in a worse condition than when they arrived. The situation in rural areas is even worse as people have to travel for miles to receive medical attention from clinics and this costs them time and money which they cannot afford.

These problems are compounded by the inefficient management of funds by government officials in the provinces. The KwaZulu Natal Health Department, for example, overspent by R1.3 billion in the last financial year and now we hear that it owes the National Health Laboratory Service R169 million. This is simply not acceptable.

The doctors' strike which has been ongoing for some time now could have, and should have, been avoided. It should not have been allowed to reach this stage. The situation has now reached a point where the patients, who are innocent in all of this, are suffering. These doctors work long hours in unpleasant conditions and their efforts should be rewarded accordingly. It is important to realise that human resources are the most important resource of any organisation and they should therefore be treated as such.

The dire state of our health care system means that the less fortunate South Africans suffer the most as they cannot afford private healthcare. The inability of this department to fulfil its aims makes it more difficult for the poor to escape their lives of poverty.

Chairperson, I do understand that the new Minister has inherited a dysfunctional system with many problems and some incapable officials and administrators, but our health care system is failing and it is for this reason that the IFP cannot support this budget vote.

Drastic changes are needed within this department and our health care system if the aim of promoting the health of all South Africans is to be reached.

I thank you.

Contact: Hilda Msweli, 072 513 1833.