Health plan ‘still a mystery to most’

CIVIL society and advocacy organisations have accused the provincial Health Department of failing to communicate its new 10-year plan to improve health services.

In December the department unveiled Healthcare 2020, a plan it said would improve service levels, quality of care and operational efficiencies.

But some NGOS say the plan is too complex for many to understand and the department failed to advertise its twomonth public participation process, which ends tomorrow.

Organisations such as the Cape Metro Health Forum and Aids Response Trust have called the process ”fruitless”.

Damaris Kiewiets, Cape Metro Health Forum chairwoman, said the department had only invited input through its website.

“In this country where access to the internet is so limited, how can you claim that you have communicated with the masses when those people don’t have access even to a computer?”

The plan sets out to improve patient experience in public health centres, the wellness of patients and patient satisfaction. It also focuses on:

Improved life-expectancy and reduced maternal and child mortality.

Strengthening district health services by giving managers and their teams responsibility for meeting targets.

Narrowing inequities between urban and rural areas.

Providing an affordable health service.

Bernice Roeland, director of the Aids Response Trust, an advocacy organisation for community health workers, said the lack of communication by the department was a “missed opportunity”.

“(National Health Insurance) calls for revitalisation of the primary health-care sector and if you miss the opportunity to communicate with those people on the ground, you can’t expect to succeed,” she said.

Roeland called on the department to extend the public participation process.

Department spokeswoman Faiza Steyn denied claims that the process had not been well publicised.

“The draft plan… was sent in hard copy to all known community leadership, NGOS, universities, hospital board members and chairpersons, unions, employees, management and staff of other government departments,” she said.