04/23/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/23/2024 07:01
Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Michele Clarke MP
In response to a parliamentary question, the DA can reveal that Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital amassed R210 711 151 in medical accruals to 357 suppliers last year. Of these claims, more than half (53.4%) are outstanding beyond two months and more than a fifth (22.1%) beyond four months. This is shocking, considering that Baragwanath is the largest hospital in Africa and serves more than 1.5 million people in the greater Soweto area. As the National Health Insurance (NHI) looms, what should be a pinnacle of excellence has instead become a sad case of maladministration.
Vulnerable South Africans deserve better than a failing healthcare system, as outstanding accruals are a part of a broader string of failures at Baragwanath and the Gauteng Provincial Health Department:
This will sadly only worsen, once NHI becomes law. NHI will centralise healthcare and put services in the hands of politicians, not doctors.
If government really cares about universal healthcare, it will abandon NHI and focus rather on pragmatic solutions. These include:
A vote to oust the ANC-led government next month, will return public health to focusing on the people. We can have a healthcare system that not only works but is world-class. South Africans must choose to put their health first.