The newly appointed Free State Health MEC, Butana Komphela, has identified inadequate health resources as one of the major issues faced by his department. He says the Free State Department of Health is still faced with a number of issues, one being the shortage of medical personnel, and the other the lack of proper treatment.
Khomphela says this is soon going to be a problem of the past. With two weeks in the office as the MEC of Health, Komphela says he has identified these issues as the most protruding matters that need urgent attention. He says providing adequate resources, including human resource personnel, remains his number one priority.
“We cannot have one person doing the work that is supposed to be divided among 20 people. We need to have people who are qualified and equal to the task. The workload of medical staff has to be reduced. They should not have to exceed their working hours, so that they can perform optimally. Issues relating to health need to be dealt with immediately” he said.
Komphela says the shortage of medical staff and medication at public hospitals will soon be resolved. He says he will use the experience gained in his previous portfolio of Police, Roads and Transport to ensure that medical treatment such as antiretrovirals (ARVs) are not stolen and sold to drug dealers.
Komphela says allegations that stolen ARVs are used to manufacture popular street drugs such as whoonga and nyaope are receiving his attention. “We are going to be hard on those that steal or use medical supplies for the wrong reasons” he explained.
He said he is conducting an assessment into the shortages at different hospitals and is working towards turning the Free State’s public hospitals into world class health care facilities.
Katleho Morapela/ Courant News
katleho@centralmediagroup.co.za
