The health care sector like other branches of government is in disarray ,the functioning of society is sinking deeper into despair. Our politicians and social servants are fast becoming a joke not only in SA but all over the world. Zuma has said the gap between rich and poor has closed considerably but one can easily see that the gap of those in power and those sitting at ground level is extensive ,its remarkable that we have yet to completely collapse as many sectors have hit rock bottom .
I decided to question an acquaintance , a young doctor about his opinion on the crumbling and barely functioning health care system.
The common reaction to the subject of SA health sector is, what health care? Most complaints deal with hospital management, long waiting periods, unprofessional nurses and insufficient health care practitioners’ ,these are a few of the criticism the health care system is faced with. As a doctor what is your opinion regarding public perception and the reality of what is happening?.
“Currently I feel the D.O.H makes decisions and changes to the health care system without assessing the views from the community and the people working on the ground “
“Many hospitals are understated ,lack resources and proper infrastructure resulting in poor quality of cure .Management is poor and do not make decisions and improvements to benefit the public “
Considering your experience what have you identified as problem areas and what do you propose needs to be done to solve these issues?
“poor infrastructure ,lack of doctors ,lack of resources ,poor management of hospitals .”
“Employ CEOS and medical managers with appropriate qualifications “
What is needed in public hospitals , some state a lack of funds ,broken or old machinery and theft?.
“good infrastructure ,adequate resources ,proper referral systems ,patient education”.
As a young doctor do you feel the demand on those with little practical training or experience impacts the quality of service delivery ?.
“Yes, medicine is about experience and the more time you spend in training the greater your ability to serve patients “
What hardships are doctors faced with on a daily or weekly basis ?.
“overworked /underpaid “
“long hours”
“nursing staff not involved in patient care “
“late referrals”
“patients are uneducated ,do not know when to seek help”
This is what South Africa has come to ,we as citizens are stuck in hopelessness playing a waiting game with leaders who only care about their own enrichment .Some people say that apartheid was better ,others that there has been change for the better ,I do not know this and won’t skewer to either side because I was only four years old when the ANC came into power .What I will say is that it is not good enough ,those in power should not contend with the state of our country and blabber on about what has been done they should be saying what haven’t we done .Our president should take a page out of Mr Mandela’s book ,when he came into power he cut down his own pay ,even then in succeeding years he donated much to various trusts and the like.
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