THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health will host the MEC’s 5th Annual Service Excellence Awards (MASEA) 2018/19 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (Durban ICC) on Friday.
The awards are aimed at recognising and celebrating performance excellence in the delivery of health services to the citizens of the Province. Health employees will be recognised across numerous genres that make up the health system. The awards will be run in three segments, covering Special Recognition, Special Awards and Entry and Desktop.
In a media statement this week, the department said this year’s MASEAs had attracted entries from clinical and non-clinical entries including ground-breaking innovations that were already benefiting the Department.
“The conferring of awards on individual employees and teams exposes the calibre of employees that the Department has and bodes well for its efforts to strengthen human resources in health. The ultimate goal is to build an effective and efficient health system that is service delivery-orientated and talks to good patient care and experience,” it said.
The awards ceremony will be attended by identified health sector stakeholders in the province, invited dignitaries, employees from all health facilities including the entrants into the competition. The winner will receive a Gold MASEA Award and a certificate and the Gold Award Winners will also receive a Floating Trophy. There will also be incentives to be given away in the form of cash prizes for various categories.
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Meanwhile, the department celebrated a significant milestone after it was revealed that 1 million men had been circumcised in the province. Medical Male Circumcision has been found by scientists to lower the chances of female-male transmission of HIV by 60%. It also makes the male genitalia easier to clean; reduces the risk of acquiring some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) whether you are HIV-negative or HIV-positive; and it may reduce a man’s risk of penile cancer; and a female partner’s risk of cervical cancer.
Commenting on this feat, KZN MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said: “Medical male circumcision is not a license to behave anyhow. Do not make that mistake of having unprotected sex just because you are circumcised. If you test positive you will be counselled and initiated on treatment. If you test negative, you must strive to remain negative for as long as you live.”
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