Young people need models, not critics
SA’S youngest hospital chief talks about her other passion
AYEAR ago when Dr Nokwethemba Mtshali-hadebe’s appointment as the youngest chief executive of a public hospital was hailed as a first for South Africa, there must have been many who said a silent prayer and wished her “good luck” because of the many challenges she faced in the public health system.
However, the now 32 year old has shown her mettle and proved those doubting Thomases that wisdom, leadership and courage are not confined to the elderly.
The changes she brought to Bertha Gxowa Hospital have made health easily accessible to the community of Vooslorus, Katlehong, Thokoza and the larger Germiston area.
Mtshali-hadebe was asked to serve as acting chief in 2015 and was officially appointed in May 2016. She does weekly walkabouts in various sections of the four-storey building with more than 700 staff members 300 beds, keeping her finger on the pulse of all issues and challenges.
The University of Kwa-zulu Natal graduate is passionate about youth development. “I am also passionate about the mentoring of young girls, making sure they feel supported because there is a scarcity of mentors. What my achievements do are show it is possible and it makes them believe that they too can work towards something like this.
“There’s a huge impact on the psychological level, ‘this is doable.’ I’ve not had to endure severe hardships but I know my path has been relatively easy, I know most women’s paths are not.
“We need more young people to get into health and we need to be able to support their journeys.
“We need more young chief executives and it must be something that we are deliberate about, we must ensure that black excellence becomes the norm, female excellence becomes the norm,” she says.
She admits that despite courageous efforts to transform the health system in South Africa, the shadow of apartheid is seen in the racial and geographic disparities in access to health-care services.
“As black people, as black women we’re not seen as good enough. We need to do that much extra to prove ourselves. We must have a clear path. We must be able to pave the way for them.
Mtshali-hadebe emphasises that it remains important to address the interconnectedness between poverty and health. The main challenges in the sector are related to the burden of disease and the failures in effective planning for meeting health needs in the country.
She has put in place programmes that include health care education for patients, crucial for the health-care sector faced by challenges including the shortage of doctors and an increase in diseases linked to lifestyle and bad eating habits.
“Bertha Gxowa’s challenges are not just the hospital’s, these are challenges faced by the system. One of the challenges includes an influx of patients and the shortage of doctors, so we do what we can.
“Patient education is very important to us. We tell them this is what we can do, what we can’t do. In one of our departments, we do a lot of road shows. The Golden Walk took place a few weeks ago, raising awareness.
“We are engaging communities as well as churches. We’ve also started asking the municipality when it is having its imbizos so we can join in and let delegates know what we do and these are the services we provide because it’s important.”
Mtshali-hadebe says she can handle pressure. “The pressure is there, and one thing that would make me feel uneasy would be thinking it couldn’t be done. We’ve got it in us to change the perception of the public health service.
“I tell my colleagues to remember that we’re starting off on the back foot so our efforts need to be tripled because we need to get to an acceptable base.
“Yes, change needs to be done but it must be tolerable. In the first year, the pressure was to get things done right. But when you realise that with the resources we’ve got, we need a phased approach.
According to Mtshalihadebe, one of the biggest complaints is about staff attitude.
The matter has been investigated systematically to alleviate the pressure people are under and the interventions that can be put in place to make them feel supported.