Groote Schuur 3rd in SA for complying with standards

PRETORIA: Groote Schuur Hospital has come third on the list of the country’s central hospitals complying with the national core standards.

Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria is the most compliant, achieving 96 percent.

Coming ahead of Inkosi Albert Luthuli (89 percent) and Groote Schuur at 88 percent, Steve Biko Academic came tops in, among others, elements of quality of care to which health management should aspire to achieve optimal care.

Gauteng also achieved the highest score in the country’s national core standards, said Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.

“We have been rated number one in the country for three consecutive years now,” she said.

The national office of compliance conducts annual assessments, during which health facilities are checked for extreme measures as well as vital, essential and developmental standards.

Mahlangu said: “Increased performance of hospitals is attributed to the efforts of the department in the implementation of quality improvement plans towards closing gaps iden- tified during self-assessments.”

In extreme standards, the compliance office looked for non-negotiables, which measured the safety of patients and staff, and their safeguarding from harm.

Vital standards were risk measures to ensure the safety of patients and employees, while essential standards measured risks considered fundamental to the provision of safe, decent quality care, she said.

Developmental standards were elements of quality of care to which health management should aspire to achieve optimal care.

The Dr George Mukhari Central Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa maintained the 68 percent compliance from last year, while Charlotte Maxeke in Joburg dropped from 80 percent to 78 percent. At 65 percent, Mamelodi Hospital was the lowest provincial regional hospital in complying with the core standards.

“The standard set by Steve Biko must now be sustained and replicated in all our health facilities,” said Mahlangu.

Improvement plans for the facilities whose performance had declined or needed to be improved were in place, she added.