Once approved by the Legislature the Health Department will receive an additional R139,5 million to supplement its R4,74 billion budget for the current financial year. This will be made up of R3,4 million from rollovers from the previous financial year and R136 million from other adjustments.
"The largest slice of the additional funds approximately R104 million will be used to help us deal with the huge increase in demand for our services as a result of rapid population growth and sharp increases in the incidence of communicable and chronic lifestyle diseases. Included in this amount is R29 million donated by the Global Fund to help strengthen and expand our already comprehensive HIV and Aids programmes.
"A further R20 million will be spent on various items including increasing vaccine levels, improving Emergency Medical Services, enhancing revenue collection, replacing beds and trolleys and shortening waiting lists for patients waiting for ear, nose and throat surgery, cataract surgery, bone marrow transplants and buying high cost consumables like heart valve prostheses," said Health Minister, Pierre Uys.
"The budget relief now in the offing will remove a considerable amount of pressure from health services in the Western Cape. Where some weeks back we were faced with drastic options such as the closure of numerous wards and ICU beds, along with further delays in elective surgery, the funds being reallocated will help ensure that no further service cuts would be necessary this year.
"It also confirms Cabinet and this government's commitment to the spirit of iKapa Elihlumayo and our goal to deliver on a Healthy Home for All. I would also like to commend the management and staff of the Health Department for staying on course during a difficult time and continuing to provide quality health care to the more than 70% of residents of our Province that are completely dependent on the government for health care.
"However, we are not out of the woods yet. I want to stress that ongoing structural changes are essential if we are to achieve our goal of providing equal access to quality health care. This includes directing patients to the most appropriate level of care within the health system as provided for in our Healthcare 2010 strategy."
Uys added there had already been a number of major improvements to the health infrastructure and that the department was close to finalising a new service delivery plan after lengthy consultation with stakeholders. This would define how many hospital beds were required at each level of the service, underpinned by a comprehensive primary health care service. The staffing plan would then follow.
"The bottom line is that we have to use the available funds more effectively because the demand is likely to outstrip budget for some time to come. By early next year we will start to move swiftly towards the restructuring of the service and this should help us meet the ever growing demand for quality health care," he said.
Statement issued by the Ministry of Health
Contact: Pierre Uys: 082 455 5144
Media liaison: Herman van der Westhuizen 082 772 9161
The Healthcare 2010 strategy, which was built on a restructuring process that was started in 1994, is to offer patients an improved health care service at the most appropriate level of care with commensurate cost savings.
In practice, public health services in the Western Cape will be moved closer to patients, with a focus on primary-level services, community-based care and preventative care delivered by nurses and general practitioners. At the same time, the delivery of specialist services will be expanded throughout the Province, while special efforts will be made to ensure that specialised tertiary services are well equipped and have highly trained staff.
Health Western Cape provides care for the more than 72% of the 4,5 million people in this province. Our services include:- Nurse driven primary health care services at 242 fixed clinics and 130 mobile clinics serving our people
- Medical doctors supporting PHC at 64 community health centres
- Hospital care for 135 000 patients at 22 district level hospitals with 600 000 outpatient visits
- Trained emergency medical personnel in fully equipped vehicles travelling 16 million kilometres rendering emergency medical services
- Specialist care to 172 000 patients at regional, psychiatric and tuberculosis hospitals
- Dental care for 160 000 patients
- Highly specialized care for an estimated 110 000 patients from the Western Cape and 90 000 patients from other provinces at our Groote Schuur, Tygerberg and Red Cross hospitals.
- The average hospital bed occupancy rate in the province is 85% and sometimes exceeds 100% (numerous new hospitals are planned as part of Healthcare 2010).
- Up to 35% of patients admitted to hospital are HIV positive, while co-infection of TB and HIV is high, with up to 31% of those who die in hospital being TB positive.
- A survey by the Health Economic Unit of UCT revealed that Tygerberg Hospital was faced with additional expenditure of approximately R50 million a year due to HIV/AIDS.
