Intervention yields healthy results

THE work to rebuild the North West Department of Health, as part of the intervention led by national government, is helping restore quality health services to communities in the province who need it the most.

Since the implementation of Section 100(1)(b) – a constitutional prescript which allows national government to take over responsibilities when a provincial department fails to fulfil its obligations – there has been strong inroads into turning around the department.

We anticipate that in the upcoming months the intervention team will fully restore the provincial department to meet its mandate of health promotion, disease prevention and health service provision.

As part of the turnaround plan being implemented, the minister of health has appointed an intervention team lead by an administrator to tackle the most pressing challenges at the department.

The intervention team is working within the current structures of the North West Department of Health, such as the departmental management committee, executive management committee and the provincial health council to bring lasting change.

As part of being accountable to the people of the province, the reporting structures have been maintained with the North West health MEC and the intervention administrator reporting to the relevant portfolio committees in the North West Province Legislator.

At the centre of restoring normality to health services in the North West is the strengthening of the department’s supply chain management system to ensure vital medicines and equipment are available and suppliers are paid on time.

In this regard the procurement plan of the department has been reviewed and aligned with the budget. It includes setting up expenditure controls on the Basic Accounting System and Walker system to align cash flow projections to the procurement plan.

The implementation of a procurement reform project is being rolled out by the National Department of Health in conjunction with the National Treasury. It has already focused on the sourcing of patient food services, laundry and linen services, as well as cleaning services.

A technical review team has been appointed to assess all contracts for cost effectiveness against current performance and market prices. Contracts with irregularities are being investigated and transgressors will face disciplinary hearings.

A strategy has been developed to deal with all unpaid bills and is already yielding positive results. As of December 1, 2018, 93% of accruals totalling more than R920 million have been paid.

In line with the Public Finance Management Act, the administration team is implementing strong financial management principles, budgeting, expenditure and cash management. There is also work on effective record-keeping to track procurements and inform future decisions.

The timely supply of medication is vital for a well-functioning health service. Through direct delivery of line items to hospitals and an optimisation of the current Warehouse Management System we aim to reduce lead-times and increase medicine availability.

We are confident that our interventions will bring stability to the North West Department of Health and help it deliver on its mandate of providing essential health services.