As part of the strategy to strengthen the delivery of health care services in the Province, the Northern Cape Health MEC, Mr Maruping Lekwene today convened a media briefing to unpack the turnaround strategy that seeks to improve services at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospital in Kimberley. MEC Lekwene was joined by the Hospital CEO, Dr Alastair Kantani and acting Head of Department, Mr Riaan Strydom.
The hospital is gazetted for 604 beds with a total of 32 specialities and employs just over 1 600 personnel, of which 195 are medical doctors, 596 are nurses and 383 are allied health professionals and pharmacists.
Every year, there are more than 110,000 outpatient appointments recorded and 50,000 accident & emergency attendances. There are 17 out-patient clinics servicing 5420 patients per month. The hospital also records 21,000 patient admissions to the wards annually, the average length of stay currently stands at 8 days.
In terms of maternity cases, the hospital delivers more than 3,800 babies. More than 650 babies, children and adults are admitted each year to the intensive care units. As part of the Radiology services, the facility offers Computed Tomography (CT) scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans.
For the current financial year, the Provincial Hospital Services is allocated a meagre of R443 637 million from the equitable share with an additional amount of R 420 514 from the National Tertiary Grant. Of this, the bulk of the budget is consumed by compensation of employees which translates to 70% of the budget. The remaining 30% is for standing commitments to render health care services.
We have mentioned that the development nodes and prospective development corridors require that we plan the health services, including the human resources required by the health system. This is essential for the development of the health system. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the health service delivery model as part of resetting the health system that we have spoken about.
The Department is introducing a new service focusing on optometry services. The hospital is in the process of establishing a vision centre and optic laboratory for spectacles to be made on site. This will be the second vision centre setup in the Northern Cape.
Over the next three months, theatre services will be increased by operationalizing an additional theatre in the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospital. This will increase theatre output and decrease the waiting times and backlog. We do so mindful of the fact that about 87% of the population of the Northern Cape are uninsured and depend exclusively on public health care.
In the last 3 years, this facility introduced Radiation Oncology services through a partnership with Icon oncology services based at Lenmed Hospital. A total number of 251 patients were scanned and 183 patients have successfully completed treatment. Many of these patients presented at an advanced stage of cancer, this calls for more cancer awareness to ensure early detection and further management.
The Radiation Oncology centre will also be built as part of our strategy to in-source the service. This will increase the accessibility to radiotherapy services in the province and provide convenience and shorten the waiting time for treatment.
On partnerships with private sector, the hospital established partnership with Smile Foundation to operate on children with Cleft lip and or palate birth defects and 120 children have benefited from this partnership since 2017.
On Human resources, health workers remain one of the critical investments for delivery of healthcare services. It is against this background that we have since attracted five Specialists in the following disciplines: Internal Medicine, Orthopaedics, Radiology and Obstetrics & Gynaecology. In addition, five Medical Specialists have been appointed on contract as a short term strategy while permanent specialists are being trained via the Registrar program. (Ear Nose and Throat, Maxillo-facial, Paediatrics and Obstetrics & Gynaecology). Over and above these appointments, the we have appointed in the last few months in excess of 160 staff for the Tertiary Hospital mainly consisting of doctors, nurses and allied health personnel.
Preliminary work is being undertaken to establish a District Hospital in the Sol Plaatje Municipality. The planning includes mental health wards at the old West End Hospital (WESH), Galeshewe Day Hospital and Harmony Home, to be complexed into one facility.
Despite all the challenges we are facing as a department, the following achievements should be noted:
• Acquisition of some key clinical equipment includes amongst others (Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Endoscope, and plans are under way to procure additional equipment for theatre, radiology and radiotherapy services.
• Lifts have been delivered and installation have started on the 4 lifts that we are replacing at the facility. In addition, we must emphasise the plan for continuous maintenance and replacement processes.
• With regards to our laundry service, one of the steam-generators will be operational in 3 weeks.
• Additional generator for block A as part of electrical backup system is expected to be delivered in about 3 weeks’ time.
• Immediate plans, over the next three months, aim to improve our theatre services to respond the backlog of elective surgeries with appointments of additional nurses.
• The partnerships with universities to ensure the provision of training for key specialities among our doctors, nurses and allied health.
• The strengthening of our orthotic services with the appointments of 3 additional staff.
• The Clinical Training centres inclusive of simulation laboratories for key specialities.
• The advert is out for the appointment of non-clinical support staff.
The Department is working towards ensuring the availability of specialists services in the districts and strengthening outreach services. One of the key interventions is to ensure the functionality of theatres in district hospitals. This will alleviate the pressure on referral hospitals such as the regional hospital Dr. Harry Surtie and the tertiary hospital Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH). Some of the hospitals that have been identified as a priority are Manne Dipico Hospital, the De Aar District Hospital, Postmasburg Hospital, Springbok, Kuruman and Tshwaragano Hospital.
The Department wish to advise members of the community to make use of primary health care facilities in their immediate communities, as part of the referral pathway process including the inter-provincial referrals to allow the hospital to concentrate on tertiary services. In the main, the Department will capacitate and strengthen district health services to provide the correct package of services, emphatic on operationalising theatres to reduce waiting times.
For enquiries, contact:
Mr Lebogang Majaha
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Health
Northern Cape Province