Gauteng health department on road to recovery

The previously troubled Gauteng health department has achieved an unqualified audit report for the previous financial year.

The auditor-general concluded that the department’s annual financial statements fairly presented the results of its operations and financial position, according to the modified cash system principles.

“This outcome demonstrates the resilience of the department and its employees to do better and improve against all odds,” health MEC Bandile Masuku said.

“We attribute this milestone to a number of interventions that included improvement in internal controls while adhering to the Public Finance Management Act.

“It is important to note that this audit was the most gruelling as the department served as a pilot for the implementation of the amended Audit Profession Act.

“Our department is among only two health departments in the country to obtain an unqualified audit opinion on their annual financial statements. This is no small feat.”

Masuku said although it was not a clean audit, it was worth celebrating after years of bad publicity dogged the department following the Life Esidimeni tragedy, in which at least 144 patients died after being irregularly outsourced to unqualified and ill-equipped nongovernmental organisations by senior health officials. The department was also subjected to another tragedy when its head office in the Bank of Lisbon building in Joburg was gutted by a fire which claimed the life of a firefighter. Meanwhile, preparations are underway to put the control of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of both Joburg and Ekurhuleni under the provincial health department.

Masuku said the current practice of subcontracting these services to municipalities had proven to be inefficient and costly.

Gauteng was the only province where EMS was not under provincial control.

The new approach would result in more resources available to be deployed when there was an emergency.

Instead of firefighters and ambulance personnel being confined to a particular area, they would be able to go to any part of the province and perform joint operations.

We attribute this milestone to several interventions