Pholosong chairperson promises positive change
Speaking to Mfanimpela Godfrey Kubheka, board chairperson at Pholosong Hospital, on how they plan to make the hospital work better for the community.
Tsakani – Introducing Mfanimpela Godfrey Kubheka (34), the current board chairperson at Pholosong Hospital.
He was born in Pollack Park, grew up in Tsakani, attended Shadrack Mbambo Primary School and matriculated from J.E Malepe Secondary School.
Later he obtained his BSc degree in Human Physiology at University of Pretoria.
He owns a public health consulting company based in Springs.
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“I wanted to see change in my community, which is why I decided to be part of this board.
My community invested a lot in me even though I have worked in other provinces.
I have always felt the need to contribute in the developing of my community.
During my tertiary days I used to volunteer at J.E Malepe assisting matriculants with maths and science.
Doing community work and youth leadership is something I am passionate about,” explains Kubheka.
Pholosong’s newly formed board was appointed in 2018, following almost two years without a formal board at the hospital.
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“My role as chairperson is to ensure that there is proper governance within the hospital and that everything is being done above board.
Forming a conduit between the hospital and the community, identifying the needs and grievances of community members, bring them to the hospital’s attention, also play a role of an advisory to the hospital’s management on a monthly basis.
I then answer directly to the MEC.
Our board has four committees which are headed by different chairpersons,” he adds.
Since the inception of the board, programmes such as risk and audit, clinical governance, human resources and wellness, and community liaison have been introduced.
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“One of the burning issues at the moment is procurement and hiring procedures.
We have asked the hospital to be more transparent in terms of how they recruit and how they appoint contractors.
The role requires balance because you need to tackle the needs of the community and balance your mandate in terms of what is expected of you,” says Kubheka.
He says they are planning to implement community projects which will address unemployment and poverty.
He urges the community to make use of available channels to voice their inputs and whatever dissatisfactions they might have.
“The hospital has a quality department for people who feel like they have been wronged or not happy with the service they have received from the hospital.
Though people need to note that with allegations they need to have evidence and it is important to do follow-ups once they have lodged a complaint.
A complaint can also be lodged through the communications department.
There’s also an app invented by the Gauteng Department of Health called Impilo whereby all the hospitals under Gauteng and contact details to management can be found.
We are in a process of getting a board contact number and an email address,” he explains.
The current board’s term will come to an end in 2022.
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“Our aim is to have a proper functioning board and proper channels of communications between the hospital and the community.
We want to do community engagement projects, we want to change the community’s perception about the hospital, which I am glad to say we are already seeing a bit of change towards the image of the hospital.
Most of the issues within the hospital, which speaks to negligent goes back to training, which is something we need to assist the CEO with as a board.
One department which is fragile is the maternity ward.
I think mainly because of its sensitivity.
Also issues of fatigue and exhaustion among the staff,” he adds.
He says a bad reputation of public institutions is due to lack of leadership.
“At the moment we do have good leadership, but unfortunately it inherited the mess from previous management.
The perceptions are still there and some of the people who were there previously are still there.
It will take time to change attitudes.
The culture of indecisiveness is a major problem in the public sector.”
He says his biggest dream for the hospital is to have their own garden, which will supply the kitchen, upskill the community while boosting the hospital’s supply chain and to be self-sustainable.
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