Chairperson, in reply to the question, I wish to refer the hon member to our government's new programme of action for the next five years, which clearly reflects that we put a big premium on the issue of improving the quality of health care services. Point no 3 of our programme of action, or our 10-point plan, is about improving the quality of health care services. This means refining and scaling up a detailed plan on the improvement of quality of services, and directing its immediate implementation.
But, already, a set of national core standards for health facilities was released as early as 2008 and was used to benchmark an initial set of hospitals and health care centres. These standards are being extensively revised currently through a process of wide consultation and technical review. The organisational standards reflect existing national policies and guidelines and are organised in a number of domains in which quality or safety could be at risk, namely patient rights, patient safety, clinical governance and care, public health, strategic leadership and corporate governance, operational management and facilities management.
The revised standards will be piloted shortly in all provinces, prior to widespread use, to improve quality, to monitor and benchmark compliance and to accredit facilities. These standards will be expanded over time to become more complete and include other systems.
The department is planning and supporting a project for improving the quality of services in four specific identified problem areas within these domains. These are patient safety, infection prevention and control, waiting times and cleanliness in about 1 000 health care centres - that means both hospitals and clinics. The facilities and projects within them will provide detailed monitoring information as implementation proceeds.
Supervision is an integral function of managers at all levels - as a process to improve the quality of services on an ongoing basis. In the case of clinics, it is supported through a structured tool which we call a supervisory manual that guides the monitoring of services and the process towards improvement.
The District Health Information System, or DHIS, is a national system that collates data collected at all the clinics and hospitals in the country on a regular basis. This monitors both detailed programme plans as well as strategic objectives set for the department. Quality of services is monitored through measuring coverage of specific services or activities. The analysis of these, which forms a specific quality perspective, is being strengthened and gaps in indicators identified to be able to produce a customised response by the end of this financial year.
Complaints from patients constitute an important monitoring system for quality, and the existing call centres in some provinces and the national department will be integrated and their capacity to analyse complaints as a monitoring mechanism strengthened, ensuring co-ordination with similar centres, for instance the call centre in the Presidency.
Patient satisfaction surveys are carried out on a regular basis by external teams. The national protocol is several years old and is being revised to ensure standardisation. Patient satisfaction also forms part of several other surveys carried out over the past few years, for example, the evaluation of the national comprehensive Aids treatment plan. Thank you.
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Mphathisihlalo, ngiyabonga. Phini likaMongameli wezwe, oNgqongqoshe abakhona, maLungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu. Ngqongqoshe ngikhuluma njengendoda yasemakhaya kwaNongoma, yikho ngithi endabeni yokuqapha ingabe ikhona yini into obusuyicabangile, noma-ke mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe kuzofuneka ukuthi uke ugcizelele ezintweni ezithile.
Kukhona into ekade yenzeka, ngisho nayizolo lokhu mhla ziyi-12, ingane yaphathwa yikhanda kodwa kwathi uma sifika kwaNongoma esibhedlela basitshela ukuthi umbhede awukho, kwaze kwazanywa ezinye izindlela zokuthi ize isiwe kwesinye isibhedlela Enkonjeni lapho eyafika yashonela khona.
Bese kuba khona le mitholampilo yasemakhaya, njengoba ngikhuluma njengendoda yasemakhaya elusa izinkomo, le mitholampilo yasemakhaya iyavalwa ebusuku. Ngakho-ke uma ugula ufuna ukushayela inqola yeziguli, kufanele ushayele eHhovisi Lesifunda eliseMgungundlovu ukuze ukwazi ukuthola inqola yeziguli ezosuka Olundi ihambe iye KwaNongoma izokwazi ukuhambisa umuntu esibhedlela. Zonke lezi zinto mhlonishwa - njengoba ninegunya elininikwe ngabantu bakuleli lizwe bethi bafuna impilo engcono - kuzodingeka ukuthi ukubheke lokho ngoba angikwazi ukukubeka icala ngalezo zinto ngoba yizinto ekufuneka zilungiswe lezo ngoba sikhonela khona ukulungisa izinto la emhlabeni. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Thank you, Chairperson. Deputy President, hon Ministers who are present here, hon members of this House and Minister, I am speaking as a rural man from Nongoma, which is why I am asking whether you managed to come up with something with regard to monitoring. Otherwise, hon Minister, you will have to emphasise certain issues.
Something has been happening for a long time. Yesterday, the 12th,a child had a headache but when we arrived at Nongoma Hospital we were told that there was no bed available. We used other means to take the child to Enkonjeni, where the child died.
Then there are these rural clinics - I am a rural man who herds cattle - which are closed at night. Therefore, if you are ill and you need an ambulance, you have to phone the district office, which is in Pietermaritzburg. The ambulance will then be dispatched from Ulundi to Nongoma so that you can take someone to the hospital.
Since you have the authority given to you by the people of this country who say that they want better health care, you need to look into all these issues. I cannot blame you with regard to these issues because these are the things which need to be corrected because we are here to make sure that such things are corrected here on earth.]