Question NW175 to the Minister of Health
09 March 2020 - NW175
Bagraim, Mr M to ask the Minister of Health
(1)Whether he has been informed that Klopper Park Clinic does not have a registered pharmacist on site; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether he has been informed as to why the specified clinic has not received any assistance from a medical practitioner on a weekly basis to assist with consultations and the medical needs of patients; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether he has been informed as to (a) why the clinic has not had any telephonic and electronic communication for the past year and (b) what is being done to deal with the problem; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) whether he has been informed as to (a) why the ambulances from Ekurhuleni Metro do not provide services to the local clinics, as the clinics solely depend on provincial ambulance services for assistance and (b) what the turnaround time of the provincial ambulance services is when called out for medical assistance to transfer patients to the general local hospitals; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. Yes. I have been informed that Klopper Park Clinic does not have a registered pharmacist.
As a practice and a norm, not all the clinics have pharmacists and pharmacy assistants. Due to the shortage of these categories of workers, the decision was taken to prioritise Community Health Centers for allocation of pharmacists or pharmacy assistants; however, the process of having pharmacists or pharmacy assistants in clinics is ongoing until all clinics are covered.
2. Yes, I have been informed that Klopper Park clinic does not receive the assistance of a medical practitioner on a weekly basis to assist with consultations and medical needs of patients.
The contract for the Community Service Medical Doctor who was allocated to Klopper Park clinic to assist with consultations and medical needs of patients expired in December 2019, however the sessional Medical Officer was appointed in February 2020. The sessional Doctor works at the clinic every Thursday to assist with consultations and medical needs of patients.
3. (a) The clinic has not had telephonic and electronic communication for the past year due to infrastructure challenges. The new clinic was planned and it is currently on the CAPEX (capital expenditure) program. There is a weekly meeting with the ICT department to resolve the problem.
(b) The clinic has a mobile phone with the prepaid airtime available for emergency calls, whilst a permanent solution relating to infrastructure challenges is being sought.
4. (a) Ekurhuleni clinics receive ambulance services from both Ekurhuleni Metro and the Province. The Ekurhuleni ambulances collect clients / patients from home to different facilities, while provincial ambulances transfer clients / patients from the clinics to different hospitals.
(b) The turnaround time differs between urban and rural areas, and between obstetric and other emergency ambulances. For urban response, the turnaround time is 15 to 60 minutes. The obstetric ambulances’ turnaround time is less than 30 minutes.
END.