If you look above you will see is a picture of a rubbish bin or trash can overflowing with rubbish. According to the Cambridge dictionary a bin is a place where rubbish or waste gets put in, but what happens when the bin is overflowing is with rubbish and there is still more waste to put in? (Cambridge, 2019) The bin will remain full and the remaining waste will not go in until either the bin gets empty the next week by the disposal services or all the waste gets transferred into another empty bigger bin by the owner. However what happens when there is no other place the waste can be transferred by the owner; then the bin will have to remain full and the rest remain out making the owner place look disorganised and uninviting. This is what I believe can also be said of the South African health system by a patient, it is an overflowing trash can.
The small trash figuratively is the small health facilities available in South Africa such as hospitals, clinics and the overflowing waste/rubbish is the people in the country. With the shocking statistics of 80% of South Africans using public healthcare infrastructures it is no surprise that our hospitals are full beyond capacity with the lack of proper healthcare facilities, health professionals and services in the country (STATS SA, 2017). Patient care and service that is provided can be likened to a trash and when limited services such as physiotherapy and rehabilitation takes place, patient can count themselves lucky for being able to experience such services for the short time available to them as it possibly may be the only time they will be able to experience such services. 17% of graduate doctors in South Africa leave the country to work abroad and the majority refuse to work in rural or advantaged areas where the need for healthcare services is great, leaving the already struggling small healthcare facilities stranded (Medical Brief, 2016). This and many other reasons such as poverty and lack of infrastructure that was discussed, is why our health system can be compared to overflowing trash can and this is why I had chosen a picture of an overflowing trash can to represent the South African health system.
Reference list :
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/essential-british-english/rubbish-bin
https://www.statssa.gov.za/?cat=27
https://www.medicalbrief,co.za/archives/sas-shortage-medical-doctors-bleak-picture
One thought on “What do patients think about the South African Health System? ( 38690 – KANYISA SITINGA)”
The metaphor used in the post is effective, and quickly gives the reader a feeling of what the patients point of view can be like. I have 2 comments on what I would love to see more of in your post:
1. It’s a good thing that you thoroughly explain the metaphor, but at the same time I find that it takes up a lot of space in your post. You could consider shortening down that part of the text, to leave more room for your own reflections on the matter.
2. In the end of the text you write “This and many other reasons that was discussed is why our health system can be compared to overflowing trash can…” I would love to see that you mentioned some of these reasons, maybe in a short sentance. I realise that you don’t have the space or the time to get into all the differens reasons, but it made me curious to what you think of the complexity of the matter.
The statistics used are a good way to undeline the subject discussed in the post. The second section of your post is very interesting, and you have used referencec that back up your statement. The problem you discuss in this post have really caught my attention, and I’m glad I got to learn more about this. Overall, this seems to be a very important problem that affect a big part of the population. The text is well written, and the patients point of view is in focus in the entire post. Well done!