Thembisa Shologu
Acting Gauteng MEC for Health, Jacob Mamabolo has committed to improve operational efficiencies in the Department to ensure that it moves with speed to deliver on its mandate.
Presenting the Department of Health's 2020/2021 financial year first quarter report on Thursday,20 August, MEC Mamabolo said whilst creating a balance in the provision of essential services and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department will ensure the acceleration of projects which will result in a sustained improved service delivery platform for the benefit of the people of Gauteng.
"In clinical services, the big difficulty they have, which affects the core business of the Department is mainly the support services, if you look at infrastructure, medical devices, human resources, the maintenance of infrastructure, issues around linen and many other support items, clinical staff requires. If we were to address these we will go a long way in improving operational efficiencies in the Department," said Mamabolo.
Amongst the remedial strategies to improve its performance, the Gauteng Department of Health has implemented the following:
COVID-19 related assessments to check conformity to COVID-19 rules instead of Ideal Hospital Assessment
Districts encouraged to provide integrated HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis(HAST) services and COVID-19 related services in  health facilities and community settings daily.

In terms of addressing under and over expenditure, the Department will revise the Section 40 projections during the November adjustment budget process.

"There is projected overspending due to continued payment (s) of medico legal claims against the state and the effects of centralisation of the COVID-19 expenses within this programme;

"There was increased spending within this programme as the service delivery platform was being prepared to effectively respond to the effects of COVID-19.

"Generally, less patients were presenting at various facilities for the period under review which affected the spending patterns," said Mamabolo.

Despite all the challenges, the Department noted an improvement in the percentage of Primary Health Care facilities, with average waiting times below 100 minutes and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) adults who remained in care increasing by 2% in the first quarter. 

"There was also an improvement in the Maternal and Child Health programme in the following measurements, Antenatal Care (ANC) for first visit before 20 weeks and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), retaining performance below the threshold of 7% and declined by 84%," concluded Mamabolo.