Pretoria - Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has revealed that only 55% of South Africa’s public health facilities have “ideal clinic” status, in written reply to DA questions in Parliament.
In reply, he said: “Total number of hospitals: 394. Hospitals which conducted status determinations are 290. The total number of Ideal Hospitals at the end of 2021/22 is 146 (37%).
“The total number of public health facilities is 3 477. The total number that conducted the status determination is 3 477. The total of ideal clinics and community health centres at the end of 2021/22 is 1 928 (55%).”
Gauteng has 37 hospitals and 30 of them (81%) have ideal status. Gauteng also has the highest number of hospitals (23) with Silver status followed by KwaZulu-Natal (20), the Eastern Cape (19) and Western Cape (18).
Gauteng is also the only province which has six hospitals with Gold Status. But KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape each have two hospitals with Platinum status; Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo each have one.
None of the hospitals in the Northern Cape had ideal status.
DA health spokesperson, Michele Clarke, said ideal clinics had good infrastructure; adequate staff, medicine and supplies; good administrative processes and sufficient bulk supplies.
Of the country’s 3 477 clinics and hospitals, only 32% have platinum status – 100% for non-negotiable vitals, more than 80% in the vital category, and more than 70% in essential and important categories. What is of particular concern is those facilities that do not pass the non-negotiable vitals criteria, of which there are only three: emergency trolley is restored daily or after each use; functional oxygen cylinder available in resuscitation/emergency room; oxygen available in the cylinder is above the minimum level.
Clarke said health MECs had warned Parliament they were running out of funds to buy fuel for generators in hospitals due to load shedding. Given
the dire state of health facilities the DA had encountered on oversight and the number of complaints received from patients and staff, it seemed a miracle that 55% of hospitals and clinics had received ideal status at all, she said.
Pretoria News