POLOKWANE – In the wake of several complaints about the service at the hospital, Modiba says the department has already begun with a turnaround plan to remedy the situation.
“It often happens that patients do not get the quality care they deserve due to a shortage of specialists.
“This is not only a problem that plagues Limpopo, but is prevalent nationally at public hospitals. We as a department we are working diligently to recruit specialists to work in public hospitals and provide their much-needed expertise to patients,” he says.
Born and raised in Lebowakgomo, Modiba says it has always been his dream to become a medical specialist, but along the way his plans changed when he was offered a management position.
“After I matriculated from Pax High School in 1992, I enrolled to study towards a Bachelor of Science.
“However, I did not complete this degree as I received a scholarship to study a Bachelor of Arts Biology and Chemistry in the United States.
“Upon completion of my degree in 1999 I returned to South Africa where I immediately enrolled at the then University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu-Natal UKZN) where I studied medicine. My career within the Department of Health began in 2006 when I did my one year internship at the Lebowakgomo Hospital after which I did my one year community service at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital,” Modiba says.
After he graduated as a qualified doctor, he returned to UKZN in 2008 to study towards becoming a medical specialist. However, his studies were again interrupted by an offer to become a Medical Manager at Murchison Hospital in 2012.
“After working at the hospital for a year, I decided that I want to complete my studies to become a surgeon and in 2013 I returned to university.
“The shortage of specialists in the country served as one of my biggest motivations to continue my studies. Eight months into my studies I was offered a position as Clinical Director at Ngwelezana Hospital where I worked for almost two years.
“In 2015 I decided to come back home to Limpopo and was appointed as the CEO of the Lebowakgomo Hospital. In June of this year I was asked to assist in the neurology ward at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital to help relieve the shortage of specialised personnel. I helped out as a general surgeon and at the start of August I was appointed as the acting CEO of the hospital.”
He says one of the challenges the department currently faces at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital is cleanliness because there is a shortage of cleaners.
“We are looking into appointing more cleaners to resolve this. Other challenges include the waiting time, quality care, and an inadequate number of machinery, especially anaesthesia machinery in the theatre. This often results in operations being cancelled or postponed and patients being forced to wait long periods for appointments.
“We have a budget of around R25 million to buy equipment. Procuring the much-needed new equipment will ensure there will no longer be a delay in service. We hope to have resolved this problem by the end of the year,” Modiba explains.
He adds another staff shortage at the hospital is for clinical managers because it is a tertiary hospital and many of the smaller hospitals in Limpopo’s patients get referred to this hospital.
Modiba explains that with the appointing of more clinical managers there will be an improvement in the quality of healthcare because the managers will oversee the departments in the hospital and ensure each department gives good quality care and minimise inconvenience to patients in their care.
Modiba says the benefits of his job is that he can influence the system with good ideas as he has access to people who can implement these plans and ideas.
“My aim is to bring change that will help patients in the process. The disadvantage of my job is that it is very stressful because it is a difficult task to satisfy everyone. It is important to keep both patients and employees happy. Being a doctor or a CEO of any hospital means you do not have working hours as you are on call all hours of the day or night.”
Asked where he sees Limpopo healthcare 10 years from now, Modiba says he hopes to see it successful in recruiting specialists and also training others to become specialists.
“Limpopo must start depending on how well we train, recruit and retain skilled doctors in the health system to ensure a bright future in healthcare. It is possible for us to close the gap between private healthcare and government hospitals in terms of quality care, but at the moment we cannot compete with the service the private sector gives to its patients. We must make sure we have a medical school in Limpopo with professors who are dedicated to service delivery, teaching and research. Everyone needs good quality healthcare because its a right, not a privilege. Due to poor management and shortage of skilled doctors, currently we can’t offer that, but if we commit today to train, recruit and retain South African specialists, we will be able to achieve quality healthcare for all,” he concludes.
