MPLs drill health over ORT’s ‘neglected, failing’ NHI pilot
Department given 30 days to explain irregularities and how it intends to address underspending in the budget allocated for national healthcare programmes
THE BHISHO legislature has slammed the health department for expanding its National Health Insurance pilot project without “proper preparation”.
A report by the Eastern Cape provincial legislature’s health portfolio committee lambasts the department for extending the NHI – which is currently being piloted in the O R Tambo District – to the Alfred Nzo District “without learning from the shortcomings experienced” in the initial pilot site.
The department started rolling out the project in the O R Tambo District in 2012. At the time, it said it wanted all citizens to have access to quality healthcare regardless of their financial standing.
Over the years, the department tried to source doctors who would work in different pilot sites, including clinics.
However, it has not been all rosy, as a recent study by the South African Medical Journal revealed the department was failing at properly vaccinating babies, with vaccination levels way below government targets.
The committee also expressed shock at the level of under-expenditure of the NHI grant.
Out of the R7-million NHI budget allocation for the year under review, the department failed to spend more than R2-million.
The DA’s Celeste Barker described the pilot project as “neglected, failing and unable to deliver”.
The UDM’s Max Mhlathi said the department had itself to blame. He said the NHI was always going to fail, as long as “we fail to address the shortcomings facing primary healthcare in our province”.
With the existing challenges in primary healthcare in the province, continued Mhlathi, the department might well “kiss the introduction of NHI goodbye”.
The committee recommended that the department report back in 30 days on how it intended to address underspending in the budget allocated for NHI programmes “as this compromises service delivery”.
Also in 30 days, “as a matter of urgency”, the department must submit a detailed report about its plans to ensure there was coordination in the implementation of the NHI Readiness Pilot Programme.
The department was also rapped over the knuckles for assigning the Coega Development Corporation to work on behalf of the department despite there being no binding contract between the two parties.
The report stated that this had “serious” financial implications for the department as the expenditure would be considered irregular without a contract in place.
The committee wants the department to report back in 30 days from Tuesday as to why expenditure was incurred when there was no contract in place.
It emerged that the department had incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to more than R74-million.
More than R70-million of this is from medico-legal claims. The UDM was not surprised. “We should not mourn the billions the department is paying for medicolegal claims because they emanate from the shortcomings confronting the delivery of effective, efficient and quality health care services,” Mhlathi said.
The portfolio committee found that the departmental call centre was not operational and the Emergency Medical Services turnaround times remained “unacceptable”.
The department has been told to report back in 30 days on how it plans to address this. —