Health system under pressure
THE PROVINCIAL health system is straining under the pressure of providing services to an increasing population, who are relying more heavily on public health services following a rise in the cost of living.
The provincial Health Department revealed a number of issues resulting in poor services and long waiting times at hospitals in their 2017/18 annual report.
One of the issues included vacancies at hospitals not being filled due to budget constraints. This had a major impact on service delivery and saw clinical services being reduced.
This issue, coupled with a population increase of 1.9% and the rise in the cost of living, saw a spike in the demand for public health services, which is straining under the pressure – the average waiting time at Mitchells Plain Day Hospital, for example, being at least three-and-a-half hours.
“Significant service pressures have been experienced across most of the larger acute hospitals in the province for the entire duration of the year. The pressures were experienced most in emergency centres, theatres and critical care units, with knock-on effects in the in-patient wards,” the report read.
“The impact of violence has been significant on hospitals. It has also caused a significant increase in the case loads in forensic pathology services, especially at the Tygerberg and Salt River mortuaries, which impacted on the waiting times for the completion of autopsies.”
The report showed that fires also impacted health care services as a fire in the emergency centre at Mitchells Plain and Swartland hospitals saw significant damage and a reduction in capacity.
The department is now piloting a tool at Valkenberg Hospital to alleviate the waiting pressure and have also implemented a management efficiency and alignment project which explores how the department can do business differently.
“(It questions) how we allocate and align functions to better be able to deliver services in an efficient and effective manner. A department faced with multiple challenges and pressure looks for innovative ways of ensuring the best health outcomes for the people of the Western Cape,” said Colleen Smart, spokesperson for Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo.
“Delivering quality patient-centred care to such a large portion of the population is a tough task in the face of growing services pressures. With a total budget of R22 billion, the department serviced more than 6.5 million people… of which 75.3% are uninsured.”
Smart said the department had undertaken a transformation journey to better position themselves in line with their 2030 health care vision which focuses on holistic health care to treat patients throughout their life and not just once-off interactions.
A department faced with multiple challenges looks for innovative ways of ensuring outcomes Colleen Smart Health MEC spokesperson