He was speaking at the launch of the R24-million upgraded Selope Thema Clinic on Tuesday.
“These are public facilities which are meant to improve the lives of residents and torching them will only reverse service delivery,” he says.
Masina also appealed to the healthcare practitioners to prioritise their patients.
• Read: Clinic offers free circumcisions
“Always remember that patients come first and everything else second.
“They should get the quality service they deserve even though they live in a township.
“We should not receive complaints about poor services from this facility,” he says.
The mayor says they have established 21 pick-up points for patients suffering from chronic illnesses.
“Chronic patients no longer have to queue at the clinics to collect their medication.
“We are encouraging young people to test for HIV/Aids, to know their health status.
“The era of being afraid of the virus is over. No one has to be afraid of dying, because we have the best care facilities to help deal with it.
“We urge young men to use circumcision facilities, which are free,” he says.
• Also read: Local clinic to be converted into rehab centre
Ward 77 councillor, Johanness Sibeko, says they are hoping the clinic will provide excellent services and prioritise the needs of the elderly and chronic patients.
“We have through the years learned about poor services in other clinics where these patients are insulted and forced to wait for hours for health services.
“We are hoping that this will not be the case at this facility.”
He says they are also hoping the clinic will absorb more unemployed young people in the area.
“We are faced with the challenge of unemployment, but now that the facility has been expanded we are hoping that it will make a difference,” he says.
