The Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital. (Photo: Facebook)
Not enough is still being done to tackle crumbling infrastructure, shortages of essential medicines and other items, as well as staff shortages at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (RMMCH) in Johannesburg.
The health ombudsman’s office had a damning last month report issued in which shocking allegations about conditions at the hospital were disclosed. The office was forced to investigate more than a year ago after a member of the parliamentary health portfolio committee lodged a complaint about the care of expectant mothers at the hospital.
The report found that the hospital is a dirty and unsafe place, with too few and outdated resources and a shortage of staff.
Michele Clark, the DA’s spokesperson on health, says the party is now going to the health minister, dr. Joe Phaahla, writes to request specific time frames for implementing recommendations.
Dr. Tim de Maayer, a specialist at RMMCH, says the relationship between the hospital’s staff and management has improved since then, but other problems that he and the ombud have highlighted continue.
“Unless these problems receive urgent attention, staff morale will remain low. This has an effect on staff’s mental health as well as on the health of patients,” says Clarke.
The DA will also visit the hospital to determine what, if any, progress has been made in implementing the ombud’s recommendations.
“This is the second investigation at the hospital that exposes the Gauteng Department of Health’s comprehensive failure to manage, maintain and develop the province’s health sector to the detriment of patients and healthcare workers,” says Clarke.
She says the continued decay is an indictment against the ANC government and a chilling preview of what will happen to every public health institution in the country if the National Health Insurance is steamrolled by parliament.
Phaahla said after the launch of the report that his department would first have to study it in detail before it would be able to respond comprehensively to the issues identified in the report.
The national department of health will in the meantime enter into discussions with the provincial department to obtain the necessary financing for the renovation of the hospital.
