South Africa: The Free State Member of Executive Council for Health, Monyatso Mahlatsi visited Boitumelo Regional Hospital. The visit was hosted on Sunday morning at the time, MEC Mahlatsi was accompanied by the HOD, Godfrey Mahlatsi.
The officials were also accompanied by the other Senior Managers of the Department of Health in the province. The Premier of Free State, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae had also visited the hospital to check on the situation.
The Members of the Health Department shared that they are supporting the vision of the Premier of the Free State. The members of the health department have shared that it is important for them to identify some of the issues faced by the healthcare facility.
The members of the organization, during their visit to the hospital identified some problems in the hospital. These issues have negatively affected the standard of healthcare in the community serviced by Boitumelo Regional Hospital.
The Premier of Free State had also expressed her concern on the issues and sought an addressal of the problems.
The MEC has asked the management of the department of Health to immediately get on fixing them. These issues are
- toilets that are not working in Trauma unit
- shortage of blankets and linen for patients
- patients don’t have plates and coffee cups
The MEC also directed that interventions be made to alleviate challenges that impede the optimal functioning of the hospital such as:
- shortage of staff
- old and unusable infrastructure of the hospital
- revamp of the security room
During the trip to the hospital, the Member of the Executive Council, Monyatso Mahlatsi shared the aim of their visit. He said that he needed to have a full picture of the state of health facilities.
He said that after getting all the information he needs, he would start his work on the Program of Action for the Department. He assured the community that the issues that they have singled out can be adequately addressed
He observed that this facility doesn’t seem bad. however, the infrastructure, equipment and shortage of staff is a major challenge, which is something that the Department needs to address.