Question NW3390 to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
27 November 2017 - NW3390
Marais, Mr S to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
How does the SA Military Health Service plan to mitigate and minimise the outsourcing of critical medical services, which is very expensive, causes in over-expenditure and impacts on delivery of other medical services?
Reply:
Outsourcing is an inherent medical service multiplier. All medical service providers make use of outsourcing to some degree; it is an intrinsic characteristic of the healthcare system. In disciplines where low potential patient numbers can be expected, it makes economic sense to outsource. In some instances, outsourcing is unavoidable. It is, however, true that the figures of medical outsourcing in the SAMHS is high as outsourcing directly coupled to the financial, logistical and human resources of the SAMHS.
The SAMHS will only be able to mitigate and minimise the outsourcing of critical medical services if the total healthcare system could be addressed through an adequate budget allocation. The total healthcare system includes inter alia the replacement of redundant medical technology and medical equipment, filling of all vacant post for healthcare practitioners and critical support staff such as ambulance drivers, the comprehensive refurbishment of military hospitals and other military healthcare facilities and sufficient funds for medical consumables and pharmaceuticals. For a healthcare system to function optimally, all elements (qualified and skilled personnel, suitable equipment/technology, suitable facilities and sufficient budget) must be present. The absence of any of these elements must inevitably result in outsourcing.
Initial steps to address the challenges are being quantified through the Defence Review implementation planning team as part of the implementation milestone 1: Arresting the decline.