Medicine shortages at hospitals and clinics across ANC-governed province
Hospitals and clinics across the North West province have been plagued by constant medicine shortages, impacting the quality of healthcare for citizens.
This is the warning from Michal Groenewald, the Freedom Front Plus’ deputy national chairperson and a member of the North West Provincial Legislature.
He said the North West Department of Health is characterised by institutional decay, corruption and mismanagement.
“The department was under administration from 2018 to 2022, but there has been no visible improvement,” he said.
The impact this has on North West residents who are dependent on the state’s medical services is enormous.
Many patients with life-threatening chronic medical conditions are regularly turned away at clinics and hospitals due to medicine shortages.
Groenewald said that there are many reasons for the state of affairs, including corruption and mismanagement.
It has reached a point where many suppliers of medicines and medical supplies refuse to do business with the province due to non-payment or late payments.
“During an oversight visit to the Mmabatho Medical Depot in 2022, unpaid invoices dating back to 2014 were discovered,” he said.
“Only 30% of the medication and 17% of other medical materials ordered are actually delivered to clinics and hospitals.”
Groenewald said this indicates there is very little to no stock control or management at hospitals and clinics.
“The Department is deeply affected by administrative red tape, mismanagement, and incompetence,” he said.
“It is crucial to eradicate the institutional decay, corruption and mismanagement in the North West’s Department of Health.”
The only way to do this, he said, is to restore discipline and professionalism to its administration.
“Internal capacity to perform core functions, such as the distribution and control of medicines and other stock, should be established,” he said.
“This will ensure sustainable service delivery. Appointing consultants and contractors to perform departmental functions is not the solution.”
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The country needs a complete reset. The ANC needs to be given the boot for starters and a proper government, a coalition or whatever, but consisting of people with proper skills and qualifications needs to be installed. Every citizen needs to be made aware of their responsibility to vote but, firstly they must be aware of what they are voting for, people who can be trusted to give good governance and service delivery. The older voters must be encouraged to vote for someone who can make a difference in their lives and not just show blind loyalty to a tribe. There must be billions of Rands in circulation in South Africa that were illegally obtained and a lot of it should be recoverable and must be repaid to the treasury. When we start to see corrupt officials being heavily fined for corruption and deliberate transgressions and doing jail time for it then I think that the mood of the country will lift. Just reading the comments here shows how sick of the present system everyone is.The economy is vital to the health of our nation and the ANC has trampled on it. If our future politicians are prepared to get that message across and act on it then they have my vote, but one hint of corruption and you’re gone. Like I said, a complete reset and the fat nannies and trough feeders that we have right now must go.