How a patient in the South African Health System feels.
A patient in the South African health system is much like a wilting flower. Often they are forgotten about and tend to wilt and wither away while health professionals do the most they can with the bare minimum of resources provided by the government. Patients often wait long hours in long queues to then be treated with old or sometimes a poor standard of equipment and by a health professional who often does not put the patients confidentiality and privacy first. Especially with Physiotherapy rehabilitation – patients often do not follow through with their follow up appointments due a lack of understanding of the importance of rehab or due to a lack of transport to actually get to the appointment. Much like the rose in the picture, although it is receiving the sunlight and water it needs it is the bare minimum it needs to survive. In order to thrive and properly live the rose needs sunlight water and carbon dioxide along with the many nutrients it receives from the soil it is rooted in. I chose to depict the South African health system in this way because I feel that although the health system tends to the most basic of needs of the patients, that is not enough. A holistic approach is necessary in order for a patient to be properly treated.
Nursing care is the foundation of clinical and patient care, and unfortunately these medical professionals receive majority of the negative feedback from the patients. It was found that more than half the people surveyed by M. Toli (2014) said that the time it takes to repair broken equipment is long and impacts on their deliverance of care in a negative way.
According to another survey done by K. Peltzer (2009) which investigated patient experiences and health system responsiveness, waiting time showed the lowest responsiveness followed by – freedom to chose health care provider, participation in treatment decision making and then available space in waiting and examination rooms as well as transport to the hospital being a category that scored low on responsiveness.
References:
Peltzer, K. (2009). Patient experiences and health system responsiveness in South Africa. BMC Health Services Research, all .
TOLI, M. H. (2014, February 26). ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES AFFECTING THE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENTOF DISTRICT HOSPITALS IN THE MOTHEO DISTRICT IN THE FREE STAT PROVINCE . Motheo District, Free State, South Africa.
2 thoughts on “Wilting away. Melissa Makinson 3848721”
I find it interesting how there are so many problems with the health system in South Africa, that the system fails in so many levels. The flower metaphor is a good metaphor to describe the situation, and I think it was very creative of you to use this as a picture to represent the South African health system.
Otherwise, I think you could have explained your referensces a bit more, and maybe explained how you can draw lines to the physiotherapy practice in South Africa or your picture.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I appreciate it and will take this into consideration when editing.