KZN Health MEC pleads with communities to prevent unnecessary overcrowding at public hospitals
The department has also made massive investments in infrastructure development, which has included the upgrading of previously dilapidated and poorly-resourced health facilities through the construction of Covid-19 isolation facilities.
KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has made an impassioned plea to the public to adhere to the department’s established patient referral system. This would help prevent unnecessary overcrowding of high-level and specialist hospitals due to the presence of patients with minor ailments.
Over the past year, the provincial health department has recruited no fewer than 6757 additional personnel, on a contractual basis, to bolster its capacity to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as respond effectively to the province’s pre-existing burden of disease.
The department has also made massive investments in infrastructure development, which has included the upgrading of previously dilapidated and poorly-resourced health facilities through the construction of Covid-19 isolation facilities that can be easily converted into ICU and high care wards in future, as well as the procurement of health technology equipment.
According to KZN health, all of this has, to a considerable extent, given healthcare facilities the ability to enhance service delivery by reducing patient waiting times, and improving overall client experience.
Furthermore, patients who may be aggrieved now have better recourse since the contact details of hospital Public Relations Officers, clinic operational managers, hospital CEOs, and district managers have been made visible at strategic facility areas, and on publicly available on the department’s official website and its social media platforms – as per the directive from MEC Simelane.
The department also has a help desk that is accessible through its official Facebook page (KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health) inbox.
At a recent media briefing, MEC Simelane said: “It is important, wherever we go, that we talk about how our referral system works so that our communities understand and adhere to it. For example, if I wake up today suffering from a bout of flu, is there a need for me to go GJ Crookes, or come to a Community Health Centre when I have a primary health care clinic closer to me?
“When we have minor ailments, but leave our clinics and come to health facilities at a higher level care, we are taking up space for people who have serious conditions, or who may be seriously or critically injured and require emergency care.”
“When we design these referral patterns, our intention is not to make our people suffer. Yes, once you arrive at a hospital, you may not be turned away, but we must make the public understand these things, so that they seek help at the appropriate level, according to their ailments. That will ensure that our facilities do not get known for being overcrowded when they need not be. The department will continue to seek out ways to improve the quality of healthcare provision in the province,” said Simelane.
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