Provincial hospitals need autonomy - DA
2012-12-28 11:34
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Johannesburg - The health department's reported plan to
take over top academic hospitals in the country is not a constructive move, the
DA said on Friday.
"While these hospitals have critical problems, the
best solution is to give them maximum management autonomy, with accountability
remaining with the province," said DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack
Bloom.
On Friday, Business Day reported that Health Minister
Aaron Motsoaledi wanted the national health department to take over 10 of South
Africa's bigger hospitals, as he felt provincial governments lacked the capacity
to manage them.
The hospitals earmarked for take-over include Groote
Schuur and Tygerburg Hospital in the Western Cape; as well as Gauteng's Steve
Biko, Charlette Maxeke, George Mukhari and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals.
The government's intended plan is that Universitas
Hospital in the Free State, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in the Eastern
Cape and KwaZulu-Natal's King Edward VIII and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central
Hospital will also be run from national headquarters.
Bloom said that decentralising the control of hospitals
was a better option, as centralising their control only "increases red
tape and bureaucratic control".
He said the national department could best help by
providing "realistic budgets" for the hospitals under debate,
particularly those in Gauteng who "treat a large number of patients from
outside Gauteng".
- SAPA
