South Africa: Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae visited the Pelonomi hospital in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The visit was made on Friday without announcing the intention to visit beforehand.
The officials have shared that the Premier made this visit with the aim of assessing the quality of services at the hospital. The Premier said that she is aware of the challenges that the hospital has been facing.
She said that she understands that some issues make day to day operations at the hospital extremely difficult. The Premier has shared that other than some of these issues, she was happy to see the healthcare institution in good shape.
The Premier of Free State has reflected on the issues that are plaguing the institution and the crises that the state has been facing in terms of healthcare infrastructure.
The Premier believes that the problems at the hospital were as a result of some health facilities not being fully operational. She recalled the example of National hospital, which was affected due to a fire breakout a while ago.
“Unfortunately, some of our clinics do not operate 24 hours and as a result, people come to Pelonomi (hospital). To make matters worse, National hospital burnt down and patients who would normally be attended to at that facility, are now treated at Pelonomi,” said Premier Letsoha-Mathae.
Premier Letsoha Mathae has urged the people not to lose patience as the administration is working to find a solution for these issues. “The contract for the private facility near this (Pelonomi) hospital will soon expire, and we will make use of that building as a maternity ward. That will ease the pressure on Pelonomi,” she said.
She continued: “The dialysis unit is one of the best in the country and the patients that I spoke to shared the same sentiment.
Premier Letsoha-Mathae said she will continue to visit health facilities across the province to ensure that health standards are maintained and people are treated in line with Batho Pele principles.