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14 March 2024 - NW471

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Mkhaliphi, Ms HO to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What total number of persons have been admitted to (a) the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, (b) the King Edward VIII Hospital, (c) the Addington Hospital and (d) surrounding hospitals in eThekwini as a result of contaminated water; (2) what is the breakdown of the total number of (a) children and (b) elderly persons admitted as a result of contaminated water?

Reply:

1. According to the KZN Department of Health, the responses are as follows:

(a) There were no persons admitted at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital due to contaminated water

(b) There were no persons admitted at King Edward VIII Hospital due to contaminated water.

(c) There were no persons admitted at Addington Hospital due to contaminated water.

(d) There were no persons admitted at surrounding hospitals in eThekwini due to contaminated water.

(2) According to the KZN Department of Health, there were (a) no children and (b) no elderly persons admitted as a result of contaminated water.

END.

14 March 2024 - NW489

Profile picture: Thembekwayo, Dr S

Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) are the reasons that the Health Professions Council of South Africa demands that practitioners who are unemployed should pay their outstanding annual fees by 31 March 2024 and (b) interventions can his department make in this regard?

Reply:

According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA):

(a) It is a legal requirement that all practising health professionals register with their Professional Council namely the HPCSA, South African Nursing Council, South African Pharmacy Council, Dental Technicians Council and the Allied Health Professions Council. The Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974) requires health professionals to register with the HPCSA before practicing. As section 17 of the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974) states the following:

If the registrar is satisfied that the qualifications and the other documents submitted in support of the application satisfy the requirements of this Act, he or she shall, upon payment by the applicant of the prescribed registration fee, issue a registration certificate authorising the applicant, subject to the provisions of this Act or of any other law, to practise the health profession in respect whereof he or she has applied for registration, within the Republic.

The HPCSA legislation does not require that unemployed practitioners (non-practising) to pay registration fees. Infact a person not practising a health profession registrable with the HPCSA may apply for voluntary erasure from the register in writing before 31 March of the year that he/she wishes to be voluntarily erased in line with section 19 (1) (c) of the Act.

When the health professional decides to resume practice then a restoration fee is payable and the person could be restored to the register. There may be additional requirements such as continuous professional development, depending on the number of years the health professional is unregistered with the Council.

(b) There is no need for an intervention since there is no obligation on a non-practising health practitioner to registered with the HPCSA.

END.

14 March 2024 - NW493

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Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether the Hospital and Emergency Centre Tracking Information System (HECTIS) that has been introduced by his department, is now available in all hospitals; if not, (2) whether HECTIS is still piloted at certain hospitals; if not, why not; if so, (a) which hospitals have used the HECTIS system and (b) what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. No, the Hospital and Emergency Centre Tracking Information System (HECTIS) is not available in all hospitals. The system has only been implemented by the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health. It has not been implemented in any other province as it is not part of the national Emergency Medical Services Plan.

2. (a) HECTIS is not in a pilot phase. It has been successfully integrated into a total of 64 health facilities in the Western Cape in both hospitals and Primary Healthcare facilities (see annexure showing HECTIS Sites List).

(b) HECTIS is a web-based hospital and emergency centre tracking information system. The system was developed as an in-house custom-built system by an emergency physician from Mitchells Plain Hospital in the Western Cape for their internal processes. It is a Clinician driven innovative healthcare technology initiative, focused on improving the management and efficiency of Emergency Centres.

END.

08 March 2024 - NW302

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Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With regard to the emergency generators received from China, what is the full breakdown of the total number of generators that were allocated to (a) his department as a whole and (b) the provincial departments; (2) (a) how were these generators transported to their final destinations and (b) what (i) are the full details of the service providers who transported the generators and (ii) is the total cost of transporting these generators; (3) whether his department is responsible for the provision and procurement of diesel for the generators; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details, including the cost of the diesel used to date; (4) how many of the generators that reached their destination are (a) installed and functional and (b) yet to be installed?

Reply:

1. (a) The National Department of Health has received 306 generators.

(b) 34 generators per province. In order to meet the minimum demand for each clinic, it’s going to be two generators per clinic. 6KW x 2 = 12KW. Therefore, it’s going to be 19 clinics earmarked for the generators.

2. (a) The National Department of Health is currently finalising the procurement process. The procurement process covers both the collection and installation of the generators directly to the main electrical distribution board of the clinics.

(b) (i) The details of the Service Providers will be provided after the completion of the procurement process.

(ii) the total cost will also be provided after the completion of the procurement process.

3. The National Department of Health will ensure that there is enough budget allocation for the fuel consumption of generators across the country. Currently, there is no fuel expenditure on these new generators.

4. (a) None installed yet.

(b) 306 to be installed.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW318

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Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Regarding the placement of interns and community service medical personnel for each of the different medical categories, including but not limited to doctors, nurses and environmental health practitioners, since 1 January 2019 up to the latest date for which information is available, (a) what total number of foreign nationals who studied in the Republic (i) applied for placement and/or allocation, (ii) were successfully placed and (iii) in which cycle were they placed, (b) what are the details of the backlog of placements and (c) how has his department assisted the students and/or interns to successfully complete their training in cases where they did not get placed; (2) how does his department inform foreign nationals who seek to study medicine in the Republic of the fact that they might never be placed and thus be unable to qualify in their chosen medical fields?

Reply:

1. The employment of Foreign Health Professionals is subject to the conditions contained in South African employment legislation (including, for the public sector, those conditions contained in the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended and the Public Service Regulations, 2001), as well as the provisions of the Immigration Act, 2002 as amended in 2004 (Immigration Act) and the Refugees Act, 1998 (Refugees Act) where applicable.

In accordance with Section 19(2)(a) of the immigration Act 2002, as amended, the employment of Foreign Health Professionals shall only be allowed on condition that there is record that no South African Citizen or Permanent Resident was available or found suitable to fill the particular post. In addition, no Foreign Health Professional is allowed to initially take up employment in a professional capacity or continue with such employment without a valid Work Permit or Refugee's Permit or Treaty Permit and with the appropriate registration with the relevant Health Professional Council in South Africa.

In line with the above Regulations, the Policy on Recruitment of Foreign Nationals informs that posts for internship and community service will be offered to non-South African citizens and refugees within available resources only after all South African citizens and Permanent Residents have been accommodated. The policy further states that, once South African citizens and permanent residents are accommodated, priority will be given to the allocation of non-South African citizens who graduated from South African Universities and finally non-South Africans who have been recognised by the relevant statutory council as being suitable for practice in South Africa. The allocation algorithm will continue to place applicants in this order until all applicants have been allocated or available sites have been exhausted.

a) (i) Applications received for Foreign Nationals for ICSP in each year since 2019:

Non-South African Applications

Field of study

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Audiologist

1

3

4

2

3

1

Clinical Psychologist

7

9

12

5

2

5

Dentist

18

6

10

11

18

11

Diagnostic Radiographer

17

23

33

13

13

12

Diagnostic Sonographer

0

 

 

0

1

 

Dietician

6

9

16

4

7

3

Environmental Health Practitioner

1

63

39

8

1

2

Medical Practitioner

83

27

38

13

11

5

Nuclear Medical Radiographer (Comm Service)

1

5

7

2

0

1

Occupational Therapist

8

7

11

6

4

2

Pharmacist

103

121

140

139

145

43

Physiotherapist

5

11

17

10

6

7

Professional Nurse

40

41

75

49

53

13

Radiotherapy

0

2

4

6

2

3

Speech Therapist

2

6

7

4

3

2

Internship

143

76

107

90

74

48

Grand Total

435

409

520

362

343

158

(ii) & (iii) In the reporting period of 1 January 2019 to 1 January 2024 only 2 foreign nationals were allocated in 2019 and 2023 on a self-funded accredited post or where resources permitted.

(b) There is no backlog of allocations as each Cycle is managed according to the number of applicants received against the number of available posts pertaining to the Cycle. Instead, applicants are always advised to apply in each cycle and treat that as a new application.

(c) Medical training offered across the 10 Medical Schools in South Africa has been accredited and accepted to fulfil the requirements to obtain Medical Degree. To register to practice as a Medical Doctor in South Africa as per the HPCSA Regulations, graduates are expected to undergo a two-year Internship Training programme. Accredited and funded posts for Internship programme are limited and as such unable to accommodate most Foreign Nationals.

It should be noted that the intention of hosting Foreign National African students to study in South Africa is to improve the human resources for health in the Region. Therefore, it is expected that foreign health professional graduates will return to their countries of origin to serve. Similarly, we expect our professionals to undergo Community Service before they can be recognised for independent practice registration.

2. Foreign students who study at various South African Medical Schools are continuously made aware of the above-mentioned processes and legislation throughout their duration of study. Furthermore, the Internship and Community Service Placement (ICSP) website clearly stipulates the allocation criteria. Lastly, the foreign graduates who would have applied still get reminded through the letter of decline the reasons for their ineligibility.

END

07 March 2024 - NW366

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Tito, Ms LF to ask the Minister of Health

In light of the staff shortages in the healthcare facilities of the Republic, what specific measures has his department put in place to ensure that when other staff members are on leave there is adequate manpower on duty to ensure the smooth running of healthcare facilities?

Reply:

As a standard practice, staff submit their annual leave plans to their managers in the beginning of the year. Managers analyse the plans and allocate the leave days in such a way that there will be service coverage at all times. Managers discuss the allocations with the staff, reach agreements and finalise the unit or section leave plans. Any unavoidable deviation from the agreed upon plan is managed by seconding staff from other facilities so that service coverage is adhered to.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW319

Profile picture: Hicklin, Ms MB

Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What is his department’s plan to ensure that the ratio of environmental health practitioners (EHPs) to members of the population is addressed to meet the norms and standards of the National Environmental Health Policy, which states that there should be an EHP for every 10 000 members of the population; (2) what number of times did the EHPs visit early childhood development centres in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023?

Reply:

1. The Department has, in terms of governance, developed and gazetted the “National Environmental Health Norms and Standards for Premises and Acceptable Monitoring Standards for Environmental Health Practitioners” in 2015. In terms of these Norms and Standards, the Department has since 2016 included the “Assessment of Municipalities” in its Annual Performance Plan (APP) to monitor the 1:10 000 ratio of EHP per population in the country. The reports generated from the assessments play a vital role in providing municipalities with evidence to use to motivate for additional human resources at their respective Municipal Councils.

2. The following table reflects the details in this regard.

YEARS

NUMBER OF VISITS TO ECDs

2019

48035

2020

29376

2021

39913

2022

52561

2023

54533

 

END.

07 March 2024 - NW292

Profile picture: Clarke, Ms M

Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

What (a)(i) is the current backlog on toxicology analysis at the Durban Forensic Chemistry Laboratories, (ii) measures have been put in place to eradicate the backlog and (iii) total number of toxicology tests are run on each day and (b) by what date will the Durban backlog be eradicated?

Reply:

According to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS):

a) (i) There is no backlog of toxicology cases at the Durban FCL.

The Durban FCL does not offer a full toxicology service. Postmortem cases referred from the Kwazulu-Natal and regions of the Eastern Cape provinces that require analysis for carbon monoxide testing only are processed and completed at the Durban FCL. These comprise a small number of samples and no backlog has developed.

(ii) There is no backlog of toxicology cases at the Durban FCL.

(iii) The Durban FCL receives on average 12 carbon monoxide cases for analysis per month and completes these cases each month.

b) There is no backlog of toxicology cases at the Durban FCL.

END

07 March 2024 - NW293

Profile picture: Clarke, Ms M

Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

(1)What total number of medico-legal claims (a) have been filed and (b) have been paid out as (i) settlements and (ii) court-ordered payments; (2) what total (a) number of claims were awarded based on (i) lost patient files and (ii) duplicate claims that have been filed and (b) amount has been spent on (i) legal costs and (ii) claim costs from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023?

Reply:

The following table reflects the details in this regard:

NAME OF THE PROVINCE

1 (a)

Total number of medico-legal claims filed

1 (b)

Total number of the claims paid out

1 (b) (i)

Total number of claims paid out as settlements

1 (b) (ii)

Total number of claims paid out as court ordered payments

2 (a) (i)

Total number of claims that were awarded based on lost patient files

2 (a) (ii)

Total number of duplicate claims that have been filed

2 (b) (i)

Total amount spent on legal cost

2 (b) (ii)

Total amount of claim cost

 

Eastern Cape[1]

               

Free State

651

53

50

3

0

0

R37 259 798.24

R2 484 606 393.54

Gauteng

322

449

0

449

108

0

R634 637 738.31

R1 897 283 000.00

KwaZulu- Natal

779

 94

0

 94

 0

1

R328 252 675.68

R8 677 266 708.80

Limpopo

903

30

2

28

0

1

R63 145 941.00

R266 804 823.43

Mpumalanga

569

62

32

30

15

0

R224 990 555.00

R245 485 320.00

Northern Cape

57

28

27

1

7

0

R24 670 478.26

R152 235 223.45

North West

241

22

15

7

0

0

R59 270 605.65

R99 136 357.41

Western Cape[2]

               

Totals

3522

738

126

612

130

1

R1 372 227 792,14

R23 637 317 204,63

  1. Eastern Cape still verify the figures.

  2. Still waiting the information from WC. We have been advised that the responses have been forwarded to the HoD for approval.

07 March 2024 - NW373

Profile picture: Thembekwayo, Dr S

Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With reference to his recent statement on reviewing the approach of employing medical doctors, what is the salary scale of the doctors who will be employed by his department; (2) whether the review also includes the employment of experienced doctors; if not, why not; if so, what categories are included?

Reply:

1. Based on the current Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) salary scales of 1 April 2023, the appointed medical officers will be remunerated as follows:

 

Category

Salary Structure

 

Basic Salary

Commuted Overtime (8-12 hours weekly)

Total Cost of Employment (per capita)

Medical Officer Grade 1

R 906 540

R 253 135

R1 159 657

Note: Designated facilities may also offer Rural Allowance at R 148 740

2. The Department is not reviewing the approach of employing medical doctors. Instead, the review is on conditions of service and relatively all employment categories will be included in the process. The envisaged outcome of the review is to optimize the retention of health care workforce in the public health sector and for the department to remain the employer of choice.

END

07 March 2024 - NW362

Profile picture: Chirwa, Ms NN

Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

(a) What are the reasons that the Lenasia South District Hospital, which services a great number of communities, remains under resourced and unable to admit patients overnight, (b) what plans have been put in place to increase the capacity for the hospital and (c) on what date(s) will the (i) plans be fulfilled and (ii) infrastructural decay be addressed?

Reply:

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has made plans to visit the Lenasia South District Hospital, with the MEC for Health, to assess the state of affairs at the Hospital. This visit will take place on Wednesday, 13 March 2024 and the Minister will then provide the Honourable Member with a full report on the state of health services in that Hospital.

END

07 March 2024 - NW376

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Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Health

What are the full, relevant details of the plan that his department has put in place to address the compromised health services in Kimberley, Northern Cape, particularly the (a) reliance on domestic water storage tanks or JoJo tanks for water supply, (b) clinic closures and (c) increased cases of diarrhoea?

Reply:

a) The National Department of Health requirements is that each facility should have clean running water. All clinics that are constructed in the Northen Cape province, particularly around Kimberley are having water, and also provided with back up water system through boreholes. Most of the old facilities are getting water from municipalities and those that don’t have borehole are prioritised in 2024/25 to get back up water.

b) No clinics have been closed as a result of poor water supply or quality.

c) Provision of water is the competency of municipalities, the Department interacts with other departments like Water and Sanitation and municipalities to ensure that communities have access to safe clean water. The challenges of unsafe water negatively impact on the health of communities. Random samples are taken to check safety of water at laboratories if there is a sudden increase of diarrhoea cases at certain areas as a precautionary measure.

The tap water in Carnavon was tested and results were positive faecal organisms and therefore not fit for human consumption. Information from District Health Information System (DHIS) for Carnavon CHC and Carnavon clinic for the past six month showed only 1 new case of diarrhoea reported. The matter is dealt with Water and Sanitation Department and outbreak response team has been activated for health education in the community.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW336

Profile picture: De Villiers, Mr JN

De Villiers, Mr JN to ask the Minister of Health

What are the full details of all (a) sponsorships, (b) donations and (c) financial transfers provided for lawfare and/or any other purposes to (i) him, (ii) his department and (iii) officials of his department by any (aa) Qatari, (bb) Iranian and/or (cc) Russian organ of state, organisation and/or resident since 1 January 2021 up to the latest date in 2024 for which information is available?

Reply:

(a) (b) There were no sponsorship, donations and financial transfers that were received from the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Minister, Officials and the National Department of Health.

(c) A mobile laboratory, various laboratory equipment and the associated consumables were donated to the National Department of Health by the Russian Government during COVID-19. The Russian government paid for the importation of both the laboratory and other items, but unfortunately the test kits were not approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and were not used. The vehicles (a large truck and a trailer) have been stationery and parked since importation while alternative applications are sought, either in South Africa or in another SADC country.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW363

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Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

What are the relevant details of the steps of intervention his department has taken to ensure that the community of Mountain City in Orange Farm receives a healthcare facility that is able to cater for its health needs?

Reply:

A meeting was held on 9 November 2022 with Mountain City Community Leaders whereby the issue of the clinic was addressed at length. During the meeting, it was communicated to the Community Leaders that there are two clinics at close proximity to Mountain City, namely Thulamntwana clinic which is 2.8 km and Weilers Farm Clinic which is 3.4 km from Mountain City. The two facilities provide health services to the community of Mountain City, thus ensuring access to health services. Both health facilities are within the national norm of the 5km radius access to communities. The Department of Health will continue monitor the situation Mountain City area and respond appropriately.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW364

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Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

What is the (a) total number of nurses that are currently unemployed in the Republic and (b) statistical breakdown of unemployed nurses in each province?

Reply:

The Department of Health does not keep a database of unemployed health professionals including the nurses. However, all health professionals, including nurses, whether employed or unemployed, are required to remain registered with their relevant statutory health councils, this being the South African Nursing Council in the case of nurses.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW272

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Hlengwa, Ms MD to ask the Minister of Health

Considering that he recently stated that the salaries of South African doctors are straining his department’s budget and that the department has had several bilateral engagements with the National Treasury to find creative ways to shield the healthcare service and the frontline workforce, and noting that his department has undertaken to place unemployed doctors in public service employment by 1 April 2024, how will his department’s budget be adjusted to account for this?

Reply:

1. Health sector relies on employment of doctors, nurses and other critical posts hence most of the budget is allocated to compensation of employees. Currently in 2023/2024 about 63% of total budget has been allocated to compensation of employees and 64% in 2024/2025 financial year.

2. As reflected during the media briefing hosted on 05/02/2024, we do acknowledge fiscus challenges the country is facing and the impact in the health care system. The Provincial Departments of Health continue to actively engage their Provincial Treasuries to find ways of addressing the unemployment of health professionals, including medical doctors. The ongoing provincial engagements will allow provinces to get leverage of activating the posts that were previous unfunded due to the budget pressures and subsequent austerity measures encountered last year.

Indeed the “several bilateral engagements” with National Treasury have yielded very positive results and become a confirmatory expression that government departments work together to better the lives of the people. On 21st February 2024, the Minister of Finance announced allocation of R848 billion for the health sector which is inclusive of the following obligations:

  • Payment of current employees and the impact of the wage bill agreement
  • Provision of the health services in all facilities
  • Medical equipment
  • Maintenance and construction of new facilities

Included in the budget above is an additional budget of R3.7 billion has been allocated towards compensation of employees in the sector for the financial year 2024/25 to address the wage bill increase and recruitment of additional staff including nurses and medical doctors.

As a result of the provincial inter-departmental engagements, Provincial Departments of Health have already advertised 823 since December 2023 and have reported projections of 1103 Medical Officer appointments by 1st April 2024. According to the 09th February 2024 persal print out, 425 Medical Officer appointments were captured for January 2024 of which 371 are Grade 1 category.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW317

Profile picture: Hicklin, Ms MB

Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Regarding the placement of intern and community service medical personnel for each of the different medical personnel categories in 2024, including but not limited to doctors, nurses, and environmental health practitioners, (a) what total number of such personnel (i) has rejected their allocation and/or placement and (ii) were not eligible for placement, (b) what were the reasons they were not eligible and (c) on dates will they be placed as from 1 March 2024; (2) whether interns and community service medical personnel who are to start on 1 March 2024 have already been informed of where they will be placed; if not, why not; if so, (3) whether they have accepted their placement; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. (a) (i) The total number of Internship and Community Service applicants who rejected their allocation for the 2024 Annual Cycle is 70. The table below provide a breakdown of the total applicants who rejected per field of study.

2024 Annual Cycle - Medical Internship and Community Service - Allocation rejections

Community Service

61

Audiologist

2

Dentist

1

Dietician

5

Environmental Health Practitioner

1

Medical Practitioner - Community Service

29

Occupational Therapist

6

Pharmacist

2

Physiotherapist

8

Professional Nurse

4

Speech Therapist

3

Internship

9

Medical Practitioner - Internship

9

Grand Total

70

(ii) The total number of applicants who were not eligible for placement to commence duty on 1 January 2024 is 619.

(b) The table below provide a breakdown per field of study with reasons why they were not eligible to be placed

2024 Annual Cycle - Medical Internship and Community Service - Not eligible applicants

Row Labels

Can only register and commence duty between March to August 2024

Not eligible for Registration with HPCSA

Grand Total

Clinical Psychologist

2

2

Diagnostic Radiographer

 

4

Environmental Health Practitioner

15

8

23

Medical Officer Community Service

215

1

216

Pharmacist

 -

177

177

Physiotherapist

 -

5

5

Radiotherapy

 -

1

1

Speech Therapist

72

72

Medical Internship

119

119

Grand Total

234

385

619

(c) Statutory placements are managed as replacements posts that requires applicants to commence duty on 1 January of each year to ensure that there is constant availability of health professionals to render health services at a certain required time including after-hour roster cover. As a result, the department targets to release allocation outcomes between October and November of the preceding. This allows allocated applicants enough time to make necessary arrangements to commence duty on time and avoid late start that affects health services and the Cycle management.

When applicants timeously declare their late start dates, due to various reasons, a provision is made to align their date to the allocation. However any applicant that has a date beyond 1st April is then expected to apply for the Mid-year Cycle which allocates for 1st July commencements.

2. The department continues to assist applicants who were unable to commence duty on the required date. However, this is done in consultation with Provincial Departments of Health where budgets permits.

In terms of the HPCSA regulations, medical interns has to comply with a three months rotation in one domain. Therefore there are 0 medical interns that can legally commence duty on 1 March 2024.

According to the ICSP records, only 11 Medical Community Service doctors have proclaimed that they will assume duty on 1 March 2024. Provinces have been requested to assist with their appointment to 1 April 2024.

3. They have not accepted posts as yet.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW377

Profile picture: Mohlala, Ms MR

Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Health

What measures has his department taken to ensure that healthcare facilities in areas such as Kimberley have reliable access to (a) water, (b) electricity and (c) sufficient staffing to provide adequate healthcare services?

Reply:

a) The National Department of Health requirements is that each facility should have clean water. New clinics that are constructed in the Northen Cape province, particularly around Kimberley since 2011/12 are provided with water supplied though municipality line and back up water system through boreholes. Facilities that were build prior 2011/12 that does not have back up water system are attended to through Borehole Water Programme.

A service provider has been appointed during 2003/24 financial year in Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) in Kimberley to build a 2 Mega Liters (2 million litters) water tanker as additional water capacity to the current 360,000 Liters.

b) All facilities around Kimberley have electricity and some also have back up generators. There is a program running to provide generators to facilities that don’t have any back up system. The province is also benefiting from People Republic of China donated generators. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital is also equipped with GenSets in case of electricity went off during loadshedding.

c) Ideally the Department of Health wishes to fill all health care worker posts in order to improve the health outcomes of the population. Due to current financial constraints, annually, the Provinces appoint Employment Recruitment Teams led by Heads of Health Departments or delegated officials at senior level to develop recruitment plans, prioritising the filling of critical posts with required skills mix. However, they must guard against overspending on provided / available budgets.

END.

07 March 2024 - NW323

Profile picture: Sarupen, Mr AN

Sarupen, Mr AN to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether, considering the participation of the delegation of the Republic in the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 that took place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from 15 to 19 January 2024, his department bore the financial responsibility for the expenses of its representatives in terms of (a) accommodation, (b) air travel, (c) ground transportation and (d) any other ancillary expenses; if so, what are the relevant details in terms of the (i) total cost and (ii) breakdown thereof; if not, (2) whether the specified expenses were covered by funds received from the National Treasury; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Minister’s delegation included one technical official and one Personal Assistant.

1. (a)-(d) Yes.

(i) Total cost: R1 101 726.83

(ii) Daily allowance: R 57 390.94

Air Travel: R 211 876.63

Accommodation: R 827 461.51

Travel agent service fee: R 1 083.00

Service fees for accommodation: R 258.75

International handling fee: R 828.00

Back-office processing fees: R 828.00

Meals: R 2 000.00

2. As indicated in (1) above, the costs were born out of the budget of the National Department of Health.

END.

01 March 2024 - NW195

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Mashabela, Ms N to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) are the reasons that the Gauteng Department of Health failed to use over R2.6 billion of its budget in the 2022-23 financial year and (b)(i) total amount did each provincial health department fail to spend in their budgets in the 2022-23 financial year and (ii) what are the reasons that each provincial health department failed to spend all of its allocated budget?

Reply:

Responses as received from the provincial departments of health.

a) (i) Gauteng Department of Health underspent the total allocated budget with R2.7 billion of which R937 million was for provincial equitable share and R1,7 billion for conditional grants,

The reasons for underspending are -

  • Late receipt of invoices and claims from suppliers that are subjected to a verification process.
  • The reduced number of nursing students enrolled for the academic year and delays in the submission of Non-Profit institution's claims.
  • Claims for the South African Cuban Doctor programme was received and subjected to reconciliation and review and could not be processed for payment at year-end.
  • Slow construction and contractors abandoning sites due to poor contractors performance.
  • Underspending on conditional grants was due to the unavailability of contracts, and probity audit processes towards procurement of high-value medical equipment that could not be delivered and paid at year end.
  • Underspending was also incurred due to price reductions of antiretroviral drugs, non-contracting of general practitioners performing voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and shortage of condoms within the country.

Rollover application of R582.2 million was submitted and R279 million was approved as follows;

  • National Tertiary Services Grant R515.8 million requested and R226.8 approved
  • District Health Services Grant (HIV/AIDS component R38.4 million requested and R32.8 approved and
  • Statutory Human Resources component R27,9 million requested and R19.4 approved

b) (i) (ii) The following table reflects the details in this regard:

Name of the province

Underspending in 2022/2023 FY R’million

Reasons for underspending

Eastern Cape

R62,2

R31.7 Conditional grants

R30.5 Voted funds

Delays in the payment of medico-legal settlement due to Trust registration delays by plaintiff attorneys.

The rollovers amount to R24,8 million for the National Tertiary Services Conditional Grant and R6,1 million for the District Health Programme Conditional Grant (Comprehensive HIV Component) has been approved.

Free State

-R’4.4

R85 Conditional grant

-R89 voted funds

The underspending on the grant totalling R85 million was as a result of the process of reconciliation for payment at year end and could not be finalised.

The roll over amount of R84 million on Health Revitalization Grant was requested and approved to be spend in 2023/2024

Kwa Zulu Natal

R’000

The Province spent the total allocated budget in 2022/23 financial year.

Limpopo

R103,5

R49.3 Conditional grant

R54.2 voted funds

The unspent budget of R103 million is attributable to delayed deliveries of medical equipment caused. The Department successfully secured R78 million through roll over request to be paid during 2023/2024 financial year.

Mpumalanga

R25,3

R12.8 conditional grants

R12.5 Voted funds

Department experienced delays in the procurement of equipment due to revised Public Procurement Regulations.

Northern Cape

R141,4

R131.3 conditional grants

R10.1 Voted funds

Underspent funds due to delay in the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the linear accelerator. National Health Insurance grant rollover amount was requested and R47,484 million was approved to be spent in 2023/24 financial year. National Health Revitalisation Grant underspent by R82,211 million, attributed by the delay in the monitoring and implementation of infrastructure projects.

North West

R4.8

R200.6 conditional grants

-R209 voted funds

Delays in submission of invoices by service provider, late delivery of medical equipment (Catheterization and Lab Thyroid Stimulating Hormone).

Rollovers were requested and approved to be spent in 2023/24 financial year, Health Facility Revitalisation Grant - R178,9 million, National Tertiary Services Grant - R1,9 million and National Health Insurance Grant -R15 million

Western Cape

R180

R14.4 conditional grants

R165.6 voted funds

Savings on approved post list due to delays in the filling of funded vacancies and in-year attrition rates.

Delayed in the implementation of contracts with training providers resulting in training that could not be implemented as planned. The use of covid-19 rapid ag tests instead of the more expensive laboratory based PCR tests and decrease in audit fees and legal fees.

END.

01 March 2024 - NW141

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) is the current backlog on toxicology analysis at each forensic chemistry laboratory of the National Health Laboratory Service in each province, (b) what measures have been put in place to eradicate the backlog, (c) what total number of toxicology tests does each laboratory run on each day and (d) by what date will the backlog at each forensic laboratory in each province be eradicated?

Reply:

According to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS):

a) Toxicology tests are conducted at three of the four Forensic Chemistry Laboratories namely, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. The toxicology tests are supposed to be tested within 90 days from the date the samples are registered in the testing laboratory. Any test that has not been completed and authorised within 90 days is classified as backlog. Multiple factors have contributed to the backlogs that developed at the three laboratories, including incomplete information on the request forms, inadequate infrastructure, aging analytic equipment, interruptions in power supply, inadequate water supply, the COVID-19 epidemic, and shortages in human resources.

The current backlog at the Cape Town Forensic Chemistry laboratory is 6,792 cases with Johannesburg and Pretoria laboratories at 15,358 and 16,824 cases respectively

 

b) The measures taken by the NHLS to eradicate the backlog include:

    • Increasing laboratory processing capacity to analyse samples and ensuring the optimal use of resources within the laboratories.
    • Acquiring additional laboratory space in Pretoria to process both the toxicology and blood alcohol samples.
    • New posts for toxicology analysts were created for the new laboratories in Pretoria.
    • The new toxicology laboratory will analyse new cases and the old laboratory will focus on the backlogged cases only.
    • Similar plans are in process to increase laboratory capacity for toxicology cases at the Johannesburg and Cape Town laboratories and to offer a toxicology service at the Durban laboratory.
    • The NHLS, in conjunction with the Forensic Pathology Services (FPS) in the Department of Health, is developing strategies to address ageing samples in the backlog and how to best manage these samples.

c) Each toxicology case that is registered in the laboratory may include a varying number of biological specimens that were taken during the autopsy and each specimen may require to be tested more than once or on different sets of instruments, depending on the test requirements. In the pre-analytic stage, specimens may require specialised preparation, depending on the tests that will be conducted.

As a result, it is difficult to quantify the number of toxicology tests that are processed in a day as tests run concurrently and completion periods differ vastly between cases. Hence, Toxicology cases are allocated in batches of 15 cases per analyst per month.

d) It is difficult to estimate when the backlog will be eradicated, however, the NHLS remains committed to improving service delivery at all four Forensic Chemistry Laboratories and to accelerating the reduction of the toxicology backlogs at these laboratories.

END.

01 March 2024 - NW198

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Mafanya, Mr WTI to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) is the position of his department on the Public Service Commission investigation of the alleged irregular appointments in the Gauteng Department of Health in the past three years and (b) intervention steps has his department employed to resolve the matter?

Reply:

a) The position of the department is to implement the recommendations of the Public service Commission (PSC).

b) The department has implemented some of the recommendations which have no financial implications, the implicated employees are still in the employ of the department and the findings have not been challenged by the implicated employees and/or the PSC reports have not been taken on judicial review.

 

END.

01 March 2024 - NW194

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Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

(a) How will his department handle the failure to disclose/declare financial interests by healthcare workers in the 202324 financial year, (b) what are some of the reasons there is failure to comply with the processes of disclosure and (c) how does his department plan to empower healthcare workers with sufficient knowledge on disclosures, including why they are important and the technical aspect of making submissions easier?

Reply:

a) The disclosure/ declaration of financial interests by employees in the public service is regulated by Regulation 18 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, which requires designated employees to submit particulars of their financial interests to their respective heads of departments and non-compliance in this regard is handled in line with the provisions of Section 16A of the Public Service Act, which require the head of the department to take appropriate disciplinary steps against an employee who does not comply with a provision of a regulation.

b) Some of the reasons for failure to comply with the disclosure processes include forgetting the personal log-in details (usernames and passwords). In some instances, it is with regard to properties that employees acquired a long time ago and are no longer in possession of, but those properties are still registered in their names. As a result, they are of the view that they are not required to disclose such properties, while that is not the case.

c) Ethics Officers inform designated officials that are required to disclose their financial interests timeously before the period of disclosure starts and they are constantly reminded about the process of disclosing their financial interests. There are also dedicated officials who are responsible for providing assistance and technical support to all officials who are experiencing challenges in accessing the e-disclosure system.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW162

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Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

With regard to the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO), as revealed in the 202223 Budget Report, that there is a significant backlog in the cases to be adjudicated upon, (a) what impact of inadequate human resources contributed to the backlog, (b) how significant is the budget constraint in terms of the effectiveness of staff shortages and OHO's ability to fulfil its mandate and (c) what steps have been taken to address governance challenges experienced by the OHO?

Reply:

According to the Health Ombud:

a) Since the inception of the Office of the Health Ombud (OHO) in 2016, there have been inadequate investigative human resources to support optimal functionality. Commencing with two senior investigators in 2017, OHO had only five investigative staff between 2018 – and 2023 (Two senior investigators and three investigators). Due to the severe staff shortages, the two senior investigators were tasked with administrative, management, and operational responsibilities, in addition to their technical investigative responsibilities. Therefore, only three investigators were attending to the complaints lodged. During this period, the OHO received 307 high and extreme-risk complaints. Despite the enormous workload, 148 complaints were resolved during this period, and a total of 159 complaints remain unresolved.

b) The OHO budget constitutes an average of 13% of the OHSC overall budget from 2016/17 to 2022/23. The OHO's budget increased by an average of 7% per year. The provision of short-term relief in the form of surplus funding from 2018/19 to 2023/24 was made to remedy this predicament. This funding was used to enable the hiring of contract staff on 12-month contracts during the 2023/24 financial period. Although the ad hoc funding helped to reduce the number of backlog cases, there remains a large number of unresolved cases, in addition to new cases.

In 2024/25 the OHO will work towards converting the current contracted staff into permanent employment to boost the number of investigators from the additional R10 Million allocated over the MTEF. However, additional funding will still be required to appoint permanent staff to augment the capacity and ensure that the mandate of OHO is fulfilled.

c) In 2022 a Health Ombud Bill was developed to address the governance challenges experienced by the Ombud. The Bill sought to establish the Health Ombud Office as an autonomous entity.

The Ombud Bill served at the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster (SPCHD). The National Treasury raised concerns with the financial implications of creating a Schedule 3A Public entity considering the current economic and fiscal challenges.

The National Treasury recommended that the Department explore alternative options that would establish the independence of the Ombud – one such structure recommended was the Tax Ombud or a shared service option.

While the two options are being explored, the department has earmarked the budget of the OHO for the 2024/25 financial year. This approach would provide greater financial certainty to the Ombud so that the budget for human resources, equipment and other goods and services can be effected.

 

END.

29 February 2024 - NW192

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Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

In light of how Rahima Moosa Hospital is constantly targeted by criminality to the extent that the Gauteng Department of Health calls for heightened policing of the facility, (a) what has been the security capacitation efforts of the facility, (b) how does he plan to address the violent incidents that place the lives of patients, healthcare workers and the surrounding community members at risk in and around public healthcare facilities and (c) what are the innovative means his department has employed to deal with security threats in public healthcare facilities?

Reply:

a) According to Gauteng Department of Health,

  • South African Police Services (SAPS) has been alerted of the incident and the Department has also requested regular patrols along the hospital boundaries.
  • Hospital security is also patrolling an additional 50 metre radius outside the hospital gates especially during shift changes.
  • The local community policing forum has also been involved to assist with pro-active policing and community patrols in the hospital vicinity

b) The Local Community Policing Forum has been involved to assist with proactive policing and community patrols in the vicinity of the hospital.

c) The hospital management is investigating the costs of setting up a mobile police unit outside the main gate of the hospital. The hospital is also engaging companies on modern access and key control system. The hospital has CCTV cameras in strategic places inside and outside the hospital, to ensure that staff and patients’ privacy is not compromised.

 

END.

29 February 2024 - NW163

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Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Considering the role of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and with reference to a situational analysis that revealed that the NHLS has a spiralling debt crisis that currently sits at R1,2 billion, which implies that the NHLS is essentially operating with an unfunded mandate, what is his department’s plan of action to recover the millions of rands owed by Provincial Health Departments; (2) whether, in light of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, National Institute of Occupational Health, Forensic Chemistry Laboratory Services (FCLS) and National Cancer Registry operating under unfunded mandates without funding from the National Treasury, the shortage of staff and rotations, especially in the FCLS, contributed to the creation of a backlog in the turnaround time for sample testing and results; if so, has the severe backlog affected the SA Police Service in the apprehension of suspects and/or the conviction of the alleged suspects?

Reply:

According to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS):

1. The NHLS is currently working and communicating with the Provincial Departments of Health to collect all outstanding funds owed to the NHLS. Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State, and Western Cape have cleared the debt owed for the previous financial years and are paying their current debt timeously. North-West has cleared most of its historic debt and is paying towards the current debt. Gauteng has settled most of its historic debt and they are paying for the current debt but not in full. KwaZulu-Natal is paying its current debt in full. The NHLS is working closely with KwaZulu-Natal to come up with a solution regarding the outstanding disputed amount for the debt prior to the 2016/17 financial year. Therefore, most of the provinces are paying for the services rendered by the NHLS.

The NHLS acknowledges that fiscal constraints will impact negatively on the financial status of the provinces and the NHLS. However, the NHLS has implemented tight financial controls to maintain its financial stability.

(2) The National Treasury does provide funding to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, National Institute of Occupational Health, Forensic Chemistry Laboratory Services (FCLS) and National Cancer Registry. However the funding is inadequate to meet the service demands so the NHLS has been cross-subsidizing the budgetary requirements for the Institutes and the Forensic Chemistry Laboratories to ensure an optimal staff complement and functional work environment to manage the current workload. The NHLS is not able to report on how challenges in service delivery experienced by the FCLs may have impacted the work of the SA Police Service.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW193

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Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health

(a) What total number of robberies have taken place in public healthcare facilities in each province over the past six months, (b)(i) which facilities were affected in each province and (ii) what total number of times did robbery take place in each facility and (c) how did his department respond to the robberies in terms of intervention?

Reply:

According to information received from the Provincial Departments of Health, the responses are as follows:

EASTERN CAPE

a) One robbery and two-armed robberies.

b) (i) Empilweni TB Hospital, Helenvale and Zigidlo Clinic.

(ii) 1

(c) At Empilweni TB Hospital, the Security Company on-site decided to re-imburse its own personnel for the loss of their belongings (Security Officers). The criminal cases were opened at SAPS with CAS Number 11/09/2023 and 16/2/2024.

FREE STATE

a) The Department has not experienced any robberies in the past six months.

GAUTENG

a) Three robberies.

b) (i) Zola Clinic, Sebokeng Clinic and Rahima Moosa Hospital

(ii) 1

c) All robberies were reported to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

KWAZULU NATAL

a) One-armed robbery.

b) (i) Ndlangubo Clinic

(ii) 1

(c) SAPS was contacted and called to the crime scene and the criminal case was opened at SAPS with CAS Number 222/09/2023.

LIMPOPO

a) One-armed robbery.

b) (i) Zebediela Hospital.

(ii) 1

c) The criminal case was opened at SAPS with CAS Number 97/09/2023. Furthermore, the physical infrastructure of the guard house is being improved to include bullet proof and one way mirror from the inside only and the Hospital has been included in the SAPS patrol list.

MPUMALANGA

a) One-armed robbery.

b) (i) Nkangala District, Empumelelweni CHC

(ii) 1

(c) The criminal case was opened at SAPS with CAS Number 135/11/2023. Furthermore, the Infrastructure Unit fixed the palisade fence that was broken.

NORTH WEST

The Department has not experienced any robberies in the past six months.

NORTHERN CAPE

The Department has not experienced any robberies in the past six months.

 

WESTERN CAPE

a) One armed robbery.

(b) (i) Khayelitsha CHC in Site B

(ii) 1

(c) Immediately after the incident, the Department deployed the Provincial Security Team to safeguard the facility to provide additional support to the onsite security officers. Counselling Services and wellness debriefing were made available to staff based at the facility.

The CCTV camera system at the facility is currently undergoing upgrade and maintenance to include remote monitoring capabilities.

The Department is in the process of re-constructing the entrance into the facility. The new entrance will include a double gate vehicle lock system as well as turnstiles.

 

END.

29 February 2024 - NW197

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Mafanya, Mr WTI to ask the Minister of Health

(a) How has he responded to the more than 800 incidences of food poisoning in Gauteng in a space of five months, (b) what steps of intervention have been taken to prevent such incidents in the future and (c) what initiatives have been taken to curb food poisoning in communities?

Reply:

a) Response teams in all the affected areas were activated and investigations commenced immediately to try and establish the type of food consumed by the affected people.

  • Specimens were collected and sent to National Health laboratories to detect and identify the chemicals/organisms in the samples.
  • The Gauteng Provincial Public Health Directorate further established the Incident Management Team that meets twice a week to monitor the progress of the outbreak and the response by each thematic area such as Environmental Health, Communicable Disease Control, Surveillance Officers, South African Police Services and Consumer Services.

(b)-(c) Steps and initiatives:

  • Routine inspections are being conducted at food premises.
  • Routine food and water samples are being taken for microbiological and chemical analysis.
  • Joint operations are conducted with the following stakeholders: local councillors, consumer protection, metro police, border management, home affairs, and SAPS.
  • Health education and awareness are provided to all formal and informal food operators and surrounding community on food preparation, storage, and handling, including chemical poisoning handling. This intervention is especially focussed on food vendors close to schools.
  • Prohibition notices and fines are issued to owners of non-compliant premises.
  • All suspected food samples are taken to the laboratory for analysis.
  • All non-compliant foodstuffs were and will continue to be seized and disposed.
  • Radio health talks are done on different community radio stations to create awareness.
  • Health education and awareness campaigns are ongoing on food safety. This is being done on multimedia platforms e.g. TV, radio stations, social media and newsletters.
  • Draft SOPs have been developed with all relevant stakeholders on how to deal with foodborne illness.
  • Support visits are done to Early Development Centres to raise awareness.
  • Information sharing with relevant stakeholders is ongoing.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW200

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Mogale, Mr T to ask the Minister of Health

What are the reasons that the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is outsourcing the patient care of cancer patients requiring treatment?

Reply:

Infrastructure and capacity to treat adults with cancer are variable throughout the country and thus Gauteng Province has the additional responsibility of rendering oncology services to its neighbouring Provinces. However, comprehensive oncology services in the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) are currently only rendered by Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) and Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH). This places a huge burden on service delivery for these two centres which according to the 2020 National Cancer Register (NCR) of South Africa are estimated to ensure that the 23 634 new people with cancer in the public health facilities in Gauteng Province are treated. With only two Central Hospitals rendering a comprehensive oncology service, long waiting times for diagnosis and treatment leads to disease progression and poorer cancer related outcomes. Lack of infrastructure and lack of human resources are also additional contributory factors to the extreme waiting times. The Department is thus outsourcing radiation oncology services to reduce the current radiotherapy waiting times at both CMAJH and SBAH.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW196

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Mashabela, Ms N to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) options of contraceptives are offered in public clinics for sexual reproductive health rights and (b) is the name and method of each contraception?

Reply:

a) The options are as follows:

  1. Permanent method
  2. Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives
  3. Short term hormonal contraceptives
  4. Barrier methods
  5. Emergency contraceptives

b) Name and method:

  1. Permanent method Sterilizations (Vasectomy and Tubaligations)
  2. Hormonal (Oral Contraceptive (OC), Subdermal implants and Injectables)
  3. Barrier (Intra uterine contraceptive device (IUCD) and Condoms)
  4. Emergency (Combined Oral Contraceptives and IUCD)

END.

29 February 2024 - NW143

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

(1)How has the National Health Laboratory Service expanded the toxicology capacity in the forensic chemistry laboratories in (a) Cape Town, (b) Johannesburg and (c) Pretoria; (2) (a) what progress has been made in expanding the services of the Durban Forensic Chemistry Laboratory (FCL) to include toxicology testing and (b) by what date is it envisaged that the Durban FCL will be able to start toxicology analysis?

Reply:

According to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS):

1. The NHLS is currently in the process of procuring additional analytical equipment and all vacant positions are being filled to ensure an effective staff complement.

a) Cape Town: the NHLS is in the process of procuring additional instruments to increase testing capacity;

​b) Johannesburg: a new building has been identified that will accommodate further expansion of the Johannesburg FCL and the procurement of new analytic instruments is underway for the Johannesburg FCL; and

c) Pretoria: new positions have been created in the new Pretoria laboratory, toxicology section, and the posts are currently being filled. All new toxicology samples will be referred to the new facility while the existing one focuses only on processing backlogged toxicology samples only.

2. (a) The NHLS is still in the process of identifying a suitable facility for the Durban Forensic Chemistry Laboratory that would accommodate a new toxicology section;

(b) the Durban FCL will start with toxicology testing as soon as the laboratory has relocated to a new suitable premise.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW142

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

What (a)(i) is the current backlog of blood analysis at the Johannesburg Forensic Chemistry Laboratory, (ii) measures have been put in place to address the backlog and (iii) is the total number of blood analyses that are conducted on each day in the specified facility and (b) by what date will the backlog be eradicated?

Reply:

According to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS):

a) (i) Blood Alcohol tests are conducted at all four Forensic Chemistry Laboratories in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. These test requests comprise the bulk of services delivered by the FCLs (more than 80% of all test requests received). The blood alcohol tests are supposed to be tested within 90 days from the time the samples are registered in the testing laboratory. Any test that has not been completed and authorised within 90 days is classified as backlog. There are no backlogs recorded at the Durban FCL and backlogs that were previously reported at the Cape Town and Pretoria FCLs have been cleared. The remaining backlog in blood alcohol tests is recorded at the Johannesburg FCL and is currently at 35,176 cases.

(ii) The Measures taken to eradicate the backlog include the following:

  • Additional space and analytic instruments have been acquired at the new Pretoria laboratory that accommodates the Pretoria Blood Alcohol section.
  • New samples for blood alcohol testing are referred to the Pretoria laboratory to reduce the number of samples referred to the Johannesburg laboratory.
  • Shift systems are in use for analysts at the Johannesburg FCL and a 30.5% reduction in the backlog has been achieved from 01 April 2023 to 31 January 2024.
  • A new building has been identified that will accommodate further expansion of the Johannesburg FCL and the procurement of new analytic instruments is underway for the Johannesburg FCL.

(iii) Blood alcohol samples in the Forensic Chemistry Laboratories are processed in batches of 150 samples per week per analyst. Each test is processed on two separate instruments as required for quality purposes and additional fluoride analysis is performed to confirm the validity of the sample. On average, 4000 samples are completed per month.

 

b) The backlog is expected to be cleared by over 8 months from 01 March 2024, with the current staff and instrument capacity.

END.

29 February 2024 - NW199

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Mogale, Mr T to ask the Minister of Health

Whether he will furnish Mr T Mogale with the details of the food contract between the Gauteng Department of Health and the provincial government of Limpopo; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the full, relevant details?

Reply:

The details of the food contract is as follows:

Tender Number: HEDP021/19/20

Duration: 01/07/2023 to 31/04/2024

Contract description: Supply and delivery of perishable provisions at all hospitals in the Limpopo Department of Health for 36 month.

Items covered in the tender:

  • Fresh fruits and vegetables
  • Bread
  • Chicken Breast and Wings
  • Fish
  • Full Cream Milk/ Low-fat milk
  • Eggs
  • Cheese
  • Yogurt plain low-fat
  • Mageu

END.

23 February 2024 - NW64

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With reference to the Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that is taking place in Panama from 5 to 10 February 2024, (a) what is the Government’s latest position and/or mandate of the delegations in relation to the COP agenda and (b) which policy and/or other legislative document supports and/or informs the specified mandate; (2) (a) what is each delegation’s mandate on (i) combustible cigarettes, (ii) non-combustible nicotine products and (iii) harm-reduction policies, technologies and evidence-led scientific findings and (b) which policy and/or other legislative document supports and/or informs the mandate in each case?

Reply:

(1) (a) The delegates are mandated to advance the interests of South Africa and of the Continent with regard to aspects that promote public health in relation to the control of tobacco and related products.

(b) South Africa is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC is a Global public health treaty which informs South Africa’s mandate in this regard.

(2) (a) Mandate on:

(i) combustible cigarettes

To ensure decisions made at COP will protect public health, reduce demand and supply and protect vulnerable groups and non-smokers and to identify new risk based on available scientific evidence.

(ii) non-combustible nicotine products

South Africa supports agenda items and decisions aimed at protecting public health. Our main objective to protect public health, reduce demand and supply and protect vulnerable groups and non-smokers against the harm caused by nicotine and to identify new risk based on available scientific evidence.

(iii) harm-reduction policies, technologies, and evidence led scientific findings

The Department of Health is not in support of the proposed promotion of harm reduction strategies and technologies, since what is proposed by the tobacco industry in this regard remain harmful to the public. The unregulated and uncontrolled use of nicotine poses a health risk and therefore, the Department is committed to the regulation of all tobacco and related products. The objective at all times is to promote public health and protect the vulnerable groups against the harm posed by the tobacco and related products.

(b) South Africa, in our pursuit to regulate all tobacco and related products, is guided by local and global studies that have provided significant evidence about the harm caused by both combustible and non-combustible tobacco and related products. These include the emerging products flooding the market worldwide.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW43

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Sonti, Ms NP to ask the Minister of Health

Which hospitals and healthcare facilities in rural areas do not have doctors, considering statements from his department that doctors reject placement in rural facilities?

Reply:

The departmental statement referring to some medical doctors rejecting placement in rural facilities is based on historic trends that led to delays with recruitment for rural hospitals as well as the recent Internship and Community Service Placement (ICSP) statistics. During the 2023/2024 cycle, the Department received 109 appeals against placements for Community Services Medical Officer posts with majority being posts in rural facilities.

However, the Department can confirm that there are medical doctors in all hospitals and healthcare facilities that are designated to have medical doctors as part of the workforce, including those in rural areas.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW42

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Tetyana, Mr Y to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Why does Phahameng Clinic in Mamelodi still face a challenge of unfilled posts after the issue was raised with his department two years ago; (2) how many vacancies currently are unfilled in (a) the facility and (b) Gauteng; (3) whether there are challenges impeding him from filling these vacancies timeously; if so, what are the challenges; if not, by when does he envisage these vacancies to be filled? NW42E

Reply:

According to Gauteng Department of Health:

1. Phahameng Clinic is one of the 40 clinics in the City of Tshwane (CoT) that is still owned and operated by COT. The provincial government through the Tswane Health District Office assists with the staffing shortage by seconding staff to some of these clinics. There has been a moratorium placed on the filling of vacant positions since 2019 to date, due to budget constraints. The CoT and the Tswane Health District Office are in the process of considering a list of critical positions to be filled during the 2024/25 financial year, within available budget.

2. (a) Facility Level: Phahameng clinic is resourced with personnel from both the City of Tshwane (CoT) and Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH).

The clinic has the following vacancies:

  • 1 Chief Community Health Nurse (CoT)
  • 1 Nursing Assistant (CoT)
  • 1 Community Health Nurse (GDoH)
  • The above positions have been vacant for less than 2 years.

b) Data is awaited from Gauteng Department of Health and will be provided as soon as we receive it.

3. Yes, budget constraints experienced by COT and the provincial government, impede the process of filling vacancies. The CoT and Tswane Health District are in the process of considering a list of critical positions to be filled during the 2024/25 financial year, within available budget.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW66

Profile picture: Clarke, Ms M

Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

(1)With reference to the Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that is taking place in Panama from 5 to 10 February 2024, what are the details of the (a) size and (b) composition of the delegation from (i) his department and (ii) public sector entities reporting to him; (2) what is the (a) total cost estimate and (b) breakdown thereof for the delegation in terms of research, training, policy formulation, travel and subsistence; (3) whether the specified costs will be funded fully by his department; if not, (a) which external parties have provided funding and (b) what total amount; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. (a), (b) (i) and (ii)

One official from the Department of Health was delegated to attend COP 10. No other officials from other entities were delegated by the Department to attend.

2. The cost for travel and subsistence for 1 person was R175 040.46. There was no other cost involved.

3. The cost is funded by the Department only.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW50

Profile picture: Komane, Ms RN

Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Why are there no dedicated ambulances stationed at public hospitals and other public health facilities to transfer patients on an urgent basis to other facilities; (2) whether his department has put in place any measures to ensure that ambulances are easily accessible to hospitals without delay; if not, what is the position in this regard, if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. It is not a policy requirement to allocate ambulances to hospitals. Ambulances are allocated to EMS stations which are either stand-alone or co-located in hospitals, clinics, and other public facilities. The allocation is organized according to what is practically achievable within the budget allocation. The focus is on ensuring that these ambulances are accessible and respond on time when they are needed. Nationally, of the 483 public EMS Stations, 365 (76%) of are co-located at hospitals and clinics. The breakdown of EMS Stations per province is as follows:

PROVINCE

Total No. of Stations

No. of Stations Stand Alone

No. of Stations at Hospitals

No. of Stations located at Clinics

No. of Stations located at other sites

Eastern Cape

85

14

48

16

7

Free State

59

2

26

27

4

Gauteng

57

6

21

23

7

KwaZulu-Natal

71

22

26

19

4

Limpopo

57

10

26

18

3

Mpumalanga

37

7

16

5

9

North West

20

1

10

6

3

Northern Cape

48

4

8

36

0

Western Cape

49

12

25

9

3

TOTAL

483

78

206

159

40

PERCENTAGE

100

16

43

33

8

Other sites: Fire Stations, Local Govt Offices, SAPS

   

2. Access of ambulances to hospitals including emergency responses within the community are subject to demand and availability of ambulances at the time required. All calls, when received, are prioritized according to patient acuity needs, triaged and dispatched to the first available ambulance. This prioritization includes interfacility transfers.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW65

Profile picture: Clarke, Ms M

Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether, with reference to the Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that is taking place in Panama from 5 to 10 February 2024, the delegation, including potential members from other government departments, public sector entities and participants not working in the public sector have been mandated to agree to any new stipulations under the COP Treaty; if not, why not; if so, (a) what is the extent of the mandate and (b) on what current legislative provisions is the mandate based; (2) whether public comment on the legislative process related to the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has been incorporated into the delegation’s mandate; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether, in terms of the delegation to the COP’s decision-making and mandate formation, any measures have been put in place to ensure that its work does not pre-empt the legislative process and/or nullify the public participation process on the Bill; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) (a) The South African delegates were mandated to advance the interests of South Africa and of the Continent with regard to aspects that promote public health in relation to the control of tobacco products, electronic delivery systems and related products.

(b) The mandate is based on the fact that South Africa is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC is a Global public health treaty which informs South Africa’s mandate in this regard. The treaty is evidence-based and reaffirms the rights of all people to the highest standard of Health. In addition, South Africa is guided by local and global studies that have provided significant evidence about the harm caused by both combustible and non-combustible tobacco products.

(2) No, the public comment on the legislative process related to the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has not been incorporated into the mandate, because legislative processes pertaining to the Bill has not been completed yet. Many of the COP issues are similar to the provisions of the Bill, and this is a justifiable coincidence since the two are dealing with the same subject matter at different levels. The Bill process is a law-making process at national level whilst COP deals with tobacco control and regulation at international level.

(3) The National Department of Health respects and values the legislative process that the Bill has to undergo and that includes the public participation process. The Bill before Parliament aims at regulating and controlling the tobacco and related products in the interests of public health. The WHO FCTC is a regulatory instrument on tobacco control at international level. Both WHO FCTC and the National legislation (Tobacco Products Act 83 of 1993), Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill are dealing with the same subject matter namely the regulation and control of tobacco and related products, including electronic delivery systems. Therefore, you may find similar aspects covered in the Bill being discussed at COP as the body implementing the WHO FCTC. As a matter of course, the resolutions and recommendations of international bodies do influence the direction of national laws to the extent allowed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW46

Profile picture: Makamba-Botya, Ms N

Makamba-Botya, Ms N to ask the Minister of Health

Why is the facility manager in Malepelepe clinic in OR Tambo region acting as an operations manager since April 2021 without an acting allowance?

Reply:

According to the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDoH):

The clinic supervisor that was overseeing seven (7) clinics in the local area of the Mhlonlo Sub-district of OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape (EC), retired in 2021, and the appointed operational manager for Malepelepe Clinic who was the most senior professional nurse in the area, was delegated to oversee the seven (7) clinics as a clinic supervisor.

Since, as per Department of Public Service and Administration Regulations, the post of operational manager of Malepelepe Clinic was still filled by the person who was appointed acting clinic supervisor, the acting operational manager for Malepelepe Clinic could not receive an acting allowance.

On 1 February 2024, the operational manager for Malepelepe Clinic, who was overseeing the seven (7) facilities, was appointed in the post of Clinic Supervisor, and the post of operational manager for Malepele Clinic became vacant. The person delegated to act as operational manager for Malepelepe Clinic will receive an acting allowance as from 01 February 2024 and the vacant post of operational manager for Malepele Clinic will be filled in line with government recruitment processes.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW25

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Hlengwa, Ms MD to ask the Minister of Health

(a) What plans does his department have in place to mitigate the effects of unemployment of professionals in the field of medicine, such as doctors and nurses in each province and (b) how does his department intend to implement such mitigating measures to the provision of healthcare services in the rural areas that often have few medical professionals in each clinic?

Reply:

(a) The Provincial Departments of Health have advertised available funded posts for the various health professional categories including medical doctors and nurses. These are at different stages of recruitment.

(b) National Department of Health will provide guidance to provinces in line with the announcement that will be made by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech on 21 February 2024.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW41

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Tetyana, Mr Y to ask the Minister of Health

What (a) number of health facilities have faulty and/or unreliable back-up generators and (b) urgent steps of intervention have been taken to address the issue of dysfunctional back-up generators in each health facility in each case?

Reply:

(a) All hospitals have backup power in a form of generators to provide back-up electricity during outages. Some hospitals also have uninterrupted power supply (“UPS”) units inbuilt as part of their power supply backup. However, the generators and UPS units are not designed to run for longer periods of time than usually anticipated, as has been experienced in the recent frequent and longer instances of loadshedding.

(b) There are maintenance plans in place for all generators to ensure that they are operational and that there are diesel suppliers on standby to ensure that the generators are fully functional at all times.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW24

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Hlengwa, Ms MD to ask the Minister of Health

What substantial measures has his department taken to solve the funding dilemma and/or budget constraints that are often cited as a reason for the shortage of medical personnel at public hospitals in the Republic, as these factors give rise to skilled doctors emigrating for employment opportunities?

Reply:

As reflected during the media briefing hosted on 05 February, fiscal challenges facing the country and also impacting on the health care system are acknowledged. The Provincial Departments of Health continue to actively engage their Provincial Treasuries to find ways of addressing the unemployment of health professionals, including medical doctors. According to the 09th February 2024 PERSAL print out, 425 Medical Officer appointments were captured for January 2024. Of these, 371 are Medical Officer Grade 1 category.

As reported in Parliament during the State of Nation Address (SONA) Debate on 13th February 2024, working with the Minister of Finance, a solution to address the current challenge of doctors wishing to stay in the public service is being worked out. The details will be furnished after the Minister of Finance’s Budget Speech on 21st February 2024.

There is no documented evidence that links the choice to emigrate with the delayed employment by the state. Contrary to that is the demonstration of aspirations to serve the South African Public Health system as expressed by the recent outcry by the “unemployed doctors”.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW13

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Singh, Mr N to ask the Minister of Health

(1)Whether he will furnish Mr N Singh with the total number of newly qualified medical doctors who cannot be placed in community service internships at public hospitals in the Republic as at 8 February 2023; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) given the current shortage of medical doctors in the Republic, what are the full, relevant details of the steps that his department is taking to ensure that all newly qualified medical doctors are fast-tracked into community service medical programmes so that they may serve the residents of the Republic?

Reply:

1. All medical doctors eligible for community service have been placed as of January 2024. This number excludes those who lodged appeals against the areas that they were placed at.

2. National Department of Health can confirm that all medical doctors that were eligible to commence community service started work on 01 January 2024. Only those who are deemed as not eligible or are late starters (i.e., completing their community service later than 31 December 2023) have not been placed. They will be placed upon completion of their community service.

END.

23 February 2024 - NW45

Profile picture: Makamba-Botya, Ms N

Makamba-Botya, Ms N to ask the Minister of Health

Whether he has been informed of the shortages of biocides, hand sanitizer and hibiscus hand soap in health facilities across the Eastern Cape; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) urgent steps of intervention has he taken to address the situation and (b) are the details of the time frames put in place to curb the shortages?

Reply:

The National Department of Health (NDoH) was aware of the shortages of biocides, hand sanitizer and hibiscus (hibiscrub) hand soap in the facilities across the Eastern Cape.

a) There are interventions that the NDoH implements to ensure that there are no supply shortages at facilities. These interventions are informed by the cause of the supply challenge.

  • Where the supply constraint is due to operational matters, e.g. machine breakdown, labour unrest, theft, post importation testing, etc., the NDOH would source products from alternative local suppliers with registered products using the quotation process.
  • Should the supply constraint result in a longer term supply challenge, such as regulatory matters including amendments to the dossier that requires approval from South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), including a change/addition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient source and/or manufacturing site, the transfer of ownership of dossiers which results in a change of marketing authorization, delays in the issuing of the permits for imported medicines, manufactured products requiring additional quality checks by SAHPRA, etc. and no alternative local suppliers with registered products are available; an application would be made to SAHPRA for the acquisition of unregistered medicines for human use in South Africa Act use in terms of Section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.

b) Health facilities in the Eastern Cape place their orders with the depot on a weekly basis, and the depot processes these orders efficiently with a lead time of a week.

In most cases including the recently reported case, the medicines supply challenges are transient in that an item may be reported as out of stock and soon after the item is back on stock.

Currently, there are no the shortages of biocides, hand sanitizers and hibiscus hand soap in health facilities across the Eastern Cape. The table below shows the current availability of the items in the Eastern Cape health facilities including the depots:

Item Description

Quantity on stock

Stock Provision in Months

Hibiscus (Hibiscrub) Hand Soap 500ml

6 826

2.5 months’ supply

Hand sanitizer without emollient 500ml

8 590

4 months’ supply

Biocide 100s

6 060

2 months’ supply

Table 1. Stock on hand of selected items as at 12 February 2024

END.

23 February 2024 - NW96

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Hicklin, Ms MB to ask the Minister of Health

With reference to the 2022-23 financial year budget report of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, whose objective is to, amongst others, monitor and evaluate, regulate, investigate, inspect, register and control of medicines, clinical trials and devices relating to public health matters, only 22% of new Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Warehouse Practices related to licenses were finalised in 125 days, what (a) are the financial implications for those whose licenses were submitted and not granted, (b) were the reasons the licences were not granted and (c) licenses were not granted?

Reply:

According to the SAHPRA:

a) SAHPRA has the mandate of regulating the efficacy safety and quality of medicines and thus the information supplied in a license application does not include information about the financial implications of not having a license ;

b) There are various reasons licenses are not granted but in essence applicants must comply with the criteria for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Warehousing Practice (GWP). This is done in accordance with the General Regulations to the Medicines Act, Regulation 23(3) and Regulation 23(4). Noncompliance with the criteria for licensing will result in a license not being issued. In some cases applicants decline an inspection when they are contacted for assessment of their license application.

However, there were delays in finalisation of inspections due to capacity constraints in the Inspectorate unit.

c) In the 2022/2023 financial year, SAHPRA approved all new license applications that were evaluated however there are delays in the inspection of applicants due to limited inspection capacity.

END.

14 December 2023 - NW4030

Profile picture: Hlengwa, Ms MD

Hlengwa, Ms MD to ask the Minister of Health

Whether his department has any records of the number of workdays that have been lost to his department due to (a) sick leave and (b) strike action from 1 January 2019 up to 31 December 2022; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

a) Public Services employees are entitled to 36 sick leave days over a 3-year cycle as part of their basic conditions of services. In addition, the Annual Report of the National Department of Health publishes leave usage statistics on a year-to-year basis. These leave days are captured on the Transversal system that is administrated by National Treasury (PERSAL). The statistics are as follows:

Year

Total Sick Leave Days

Number of Employees using Sick Leave

Average Days per Employee

2019

7578

984

8

2020

1036

339

3

2021

2374

425

6

2022

5924

796

7

b) The Labour Relations Act (LRA) defines a strike as “the partial or complete concreted refusal to work, or the retardation or obstruction of work, by persons who are or have been employed by the same Employer or by a different Employer, to remedy a grievance or resolve a dispute in respect of any matter of mutual interest between the Employer and Employees.

Furthermore, the section 64 of the LRA stipulates two procedural requirements that should be met for a strike action by employees to be protected and they are as follows: -

  • Firstly, it requires that the issue in dispute should be referred for conciliation to a bargaining council or the CCMA.
  • Secondly, If conciliation has failed or (thirty) 30 days period has lapsed from date in which the dispute was referred to the council or the CCMA. the employees in the private sector are required give the employer at least a 48 hours’ notice to embark on a strike, while the employees of the state required to give the state seven (7) days’ notice.

In the Department there was no strike action, rather there was a work stoppage due to non-compliance of the infrastructure/ building to Occupational Health Safety legislative framework.

END.

14 December 2023 - NW4049

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

Whether, with regard to the 11th SA AIDS Conference, 2023, that was held in Durban, his department ordered an expo stand; if so, (a) for how many days, (b) what was the cost of the stand (i) in total and (ii) for each day, (c) how (i) was the stand utilised and (ii) is return on investment measured in relation to the stand?

Reply:

The National Department of Health organized an exhibition stand in collaboration with the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) during the 11th SA AIDS Conference.

a) The exhibition stand was on display for three (3) days in line with the exhibition hall operational period.

b) The total cost for the stand was -

  1. Total cost for three (3) days amounted to R1,055,951. The cost of the stand included booking of exhibition space at the Durban ICC exhibition Hall, Conceptualization, design, production and dismantling of an exhibition stand frame, panels, related items and Recording, production and editing of videography and photography of HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB interventions/programmes that were showcased during the exhibition.
  2. Costs were not broken-down per day. According to the terms and conditions of the Conference Organisers, the Exhibition space is booked for the duration of the Conference, there are no daily rates applicable.

c) (i) The stand was utilised as a platform to popularise the current National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV, TB and STIs: 2023-2028, and showcasing the achievements of the country’s HIV response.

(ii) Return on investment is that the Department in collaboration with SANAC was able to provide a platform for engagement (dialogues) with various stakeholders on innovative interventions implemented to prevent new HIV infections. Furthermore, delegates had the opportunity to share lessons learnt, best practices and new scientific and behavioural developments in HIV response.

END.

14 December 2023 - NW4048

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Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health

Whether he will furnish Mrs M O Clarke with all the reports regarding assessments and/or investigations into the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Gauteng since 1 January 2016 to date; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The Table below is providing a list of reports that were conducted since 1 January 2016:

DESCRIPTION OF THE REPORT

DATE OF THE REPORT

CONDUCTED BY WHO

LINK OF THE REPORT

STATUS OF THE REPORT

Occupation Health and Safety (OHS) Report

17 September 2017

Bigen Africa on behalf of GDID (Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development)

Tambo Memorial Hospital - OHS Report.pdf

Contractor was appointed by IDT on behalf of the National Department of Health to address the non-compliance issues.

Condition assessment on the structure of the hospital regarding the damages caused by the gas explosion

29 December 2022

IDT on behalf of the National Department of Health

Report for Tambo Memorial Hospital structure.pdf

Contractor was appointed by IDT on behalf of the National Department of Health to address the findings.

Condition assessment on medical equipment/health technology equipment of the hospital regarding the damages caused by the gas explosion

29 December 2022

National Department of Health

Tambo Memorial Hosp Equipment Report.pdf

All the findings were addressed and resolved in January 2023.

END.

14 December 2023 - NW4163

Profile picture: Hlengwa, Ms MD

Hlengwa, Ms MD to ask the Minister of Health

Whether his department has records of the number of specialists in each specified area of specialisation (a) in each province, (b) in the public health service, and (c) in the private health service during the 2013-2023 period; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The data as requested is drawn from the Persal System and was extracted on 30 November 2023. Unfortunately, records on the Persal System are not able to provide granule data of each specialization as Specialists are not captured per specialization but per Professional Category.

(a)-(b) The table below responds to question (a) and (b) which is the data available on the Persal system. We do acknowledge that the Professional Councils also keep data of all specialities but with a limitation of not being able to still distinguish between employment status (public or private) as well as current location of practice (Nationally or Abroad).

Row Labels

EC

FS

GAU

KZN

LP

MPU

NW

NC

WC

Medical Specialist

163

127

1026

569

81

51

113

29

749

Registrar (Medical)

97

186

1265

334

94

4

44

2

630

Senior Registrar (Medical)

 1

 0

10

0

 1

0

 0

48

Professional Nurse (Specialised)

1448

596

2834

3605

1539

775

1265

150

1416

Dental Specialist

0

1

60

2

3

2

0

0

5

Grand Total

1709

910

5195

4510

1715

832

1422

181

2848

(c) Not able to provide information of specialist currently in the private sector as the Department is currently not collecting the data but still improving our Human Resource Information System to be operable with private sector.

END.