Gauteng has achieved the highest percentage of Ideal Clinics across the country from 2015 to 2018, according to the latest Ideal Clinic status realisation and maintenance report of the South African National Department of Health.
The report states that a total of 281 (75 per cent) Ideal Clinics have been achieved and Gauteng has exceeded the target of 240 out of 372 facilities. The Ekurhuleni District is reported to have the highest number of facilities with Ideal status at 88.2 per cent, followed by Tshwane 86.3 per cent, Sedibeng 74.4 per cent, Johannesburg 72.6 per cent and West Rand 45.8 per cent.
According to the Ideal Clinic Monitoring System, for a facility to be recognised as Ideal, it should have good infrastructure, adequate staff and medical supplies, as well as good administrative processes and sufficient bulk supplies. The clinic should also implement applicable clinical policies and protocols, as well as guidelines.
In addition, the clinic should use partner and stakeholder support and co-operate with other government departments as well as with private sector and non-governmental organisations to address the social determinants of health.
An Ideal Clinic can be differentiated from an ordinary clinic through its introduction of unique features such as a booking system for patients with chronic diseases. This will benefit the patients through convenient time slot allocation which also reduces congestion and long waiting times. The clinic should also have chronic clubs and Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution as pickup points for medicines.
Moreover, an Ideal Clinic should have prepared and managed ready-to-use emergency and resuscitation rooms with functional equipment and the necessary drugs.
Similar to Ideal Clinics, all Gauteng’s central, regional and tertiary hospitals have achieved a 75 per cent total on National Core Standards as per the national target since 2016.
Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria has been declared the leading central hospital in National Core Standards, while other hospitals are steadily improving and striving towards this goal.
