REFLECTION:
The photo I have taken is of a notice board at a construction site at The University of the Western Cape (UWC). I believe this photo captures the vast majority of patients’ perspectives of the South African Healthcare system. The photo states, “We thank you for your patience during this construction phase” and when having a look into the South African Healthcare system, it is safe to say that this photo speaks for itself.
In South Africa it’s a known fact that the care and service most patients receive at government owned hospitals and clinics are not up to an ideal or acceptable standard but according to the government, the South African Healthcare system is under ‘construction’ in an attempt to improve this. To the majority of patients, who are constantly asked to remain calm and patient, it is clear that this ‘construction phase’ has been going on for far too long now and many wonder if it will ever be completed.
The reality for many people are long waiting lines where they sit for hours and hours before seeing a doctor or a nurse, low quality care and waiting weeks or sometimes months before having a scheduled operation. This is the unfortunate reality that the majority of South Africans face and it is mainly due to the overload of people unable to afford medical aid, the shortage of healthcare practitioners and overworked staff which all traces back to poor management by the government.
LITERATURE:
In 2009 the government developed a 10 point plan in an attempt to improve the country’s overall healthcare system while simultaneously increasing access to health care and fighting the burden of diseases that confronts the country (Moodley, 2009). But according to News24 a lot of problems, like exceptionally long waiting lines are still present (Mkize, 2018) and it is therefore evident that this ‘construction phase’ is still underway. The underlying reason for all of these problems is mainly due to weak management by the Government that has consequently led to an inadequate implementation of any one of these 10 plans (Hoosen Coovadia, 2009).
Regarding physiotherapy, it’s not as available to everyone as we would like ourselves to believe, the reality is that most of the population find themselves in rural areas where Physiotherapy isn’t always accessible and this creates a big problem for those in desperate need of rehabilitation. In government run hospitals and clinics patients often feel that they aren’t receiving adequate care as they are only seen for a brief period of time whilst in hospital due to the high demand for treatment and the shortage of Physiotherapists. Out-patient Physiotherapy is also big problem as the patients don’t always have transport to the hospitals or clinics and therefore don’t receive the proper and full rehabilitation that they need to improve their functional abilities. (Visagie, 2016)
In most government hospitals and clinics the healthcare practitioners are fatigued, overworked, stressed, frustrated and on the verge of burning out due to the long hours they work, the poor conditions of the setting they find themselves in and the fact that they are underpaid (Stoyanov, 2017).
In conclusion, research indicates that there is a strong correlation between a healthcare practitioners experience at work and the quality of the service that they provide to their patients.
REFERENCES:
Hoosen Coovadia, R. J. (2009). The health and health system of South Africa: historical roots of current public health challenges. The Lancet , 817-834.
Mkize, V. (2018, June 10). The dire state of healthcare. Retrieved May 4, 2019, from News24: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/the-dire-state-of-healthcare-20180610-2
Moodley, R. (2009, November 11). 10-point plan to improve health system in SA. Retrieved May 4, 2019, from South African Government News Agency : https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/10-point-plan-improve-health-system-sa
Stoyanov, E. (2017). Experiences of the health care delivery system in a rural South African setting. Taylor and Francis Online , 385-387.
Visagie, S. (2016). Rural South Africans’ rehabilitation experiences: Case studies from the Northern Cape Province. South African Journal of Physiotherapy, 1.
One thought on “THE NEVER ENDING “CONSTRUCTION PHASE” OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. – Cerieke Kotze”
Hi, Cerieke! I found your assignment very interesting and it caught my intention quickly. I really like how you used the “construction phase” on the notice board to describe your health care system, I feel I got a great summary of how it is to be a patient in your health care system. Your assignment capture big challenges in a health care system. It is for sure that you have a much bigger population than us with 53 675 563 (Wikipedia, updated 10.04.2019) versus our 5 265 158 (Wikipedia, updated 21.04.2019) and also has 4 times bigger areal! Long waiting lists are also a known problem in our health care system. When it comes to physiotherapy, I think long waiting lists are doing our work even more challenging, both physical and mental. Many patients in Norway have to go private because of this, even though they have already paid for healthcare (welfare model), which can create frustration and of course, is expensive. Also, I think for those who keep waiting only gets worse, depending on their problem, don’t you think?
You mentioned one of the main reasons due to the overload of people unable to afford medical aid. I’m interested in knowing how the population get access to health care and what the costs are to seek medical help.
Also, I like how you reflect on the way your government’s actions (or the construction phase) relapse on the health practitioners quality. In Norway, we have a working environment act which protects us from unhealthy overworking.