Question NW1693 to the Minister of Health
12 May 2022 - NW1693
Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Health
In view of lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, what (a) areas has his department identified as needing urgent intervention to improve the quality of public health in the Republic and (b) steps has he taken in order to implement the identified improvements?
Reply:
The department has identified the following as areas needing urgent intervention to improve the quality of public health in the Republic, which is as a result of the lessons learned from Covid-19. All key pillars which were captured in the first surge and subsequent resurgence plans, have been identified as in need of attention and they are:
|
a) Key are of lessons |
b) Steps taken to implement the identified improvements |
|
Leadership and governance |
The provinces are working on various interventions such as the process of conducting mortality audits across the country. This will assist us to know what were the underlying causes of high rate of deaths of many people during Covid-19 The department is also working on the improvement in the management of PHC services, through various interventions which will include the collaboration with school of government and other training institutions. The department is working with the provinces to integrate the Covid-19 management into the health systems management. |
|
Infrastructure |
The department is working on the capacity building programme for human resource capacity in the district hospitals where there is an infrastructure that was improved to cater for Covid-19 patients. The department has worked on the repurposing of the infrastructure to support the delivery of services. |
|
Human Resources |
The department is working on the process to increase number of nurses in the specialist areas to build on the capacity that was made available during Covid-19 |
|
Health Technology |
The equipment that was procured for Covid-19 response will be made available for use in the hospitals. This is part of the Covid-19 legacy projects. |
|
Diseases surveillance |
The department has published the regulations that are preparing the health system to improve the surveillance and response to the notifiable medical conditions. The department has extended the closing date for the submission of comments by a further three months, meaning that the department is prepared to listen to as many voices and views as possible. |
END.