Hon Minister, last year I commended you and your department for taking health care in South Africa in the right direction through your vision for drastically improving the quality of our health. Clearly, as we sit here today, a lot of work still remains to be done.
The press is filled with horror stories about public medical malpractice and the state of disrepair of hospital equipment. The FF Plus has its own stories to tell, as members of the public approach us to intervene when they are fighting an inaccessible and unsympathetic public health care system. Here is an example.
Mej Candice Midgley, 'n jong vrou met twee kinders, is met kanker gediagnoseer, maar het maande gesukkel om toegang tot behandeling te kry. Van die verskonings is dat die mediese apparate nie herstel word nie en dus nie gebruik kan word nie omdat die regering nie uitstaande rekeninge vereffen het nie.
Daar is ook die persberig van nog 'n ma wat gesterf het omdat die krities- nodige mediese apparaat nie gewerk het nie weens 'n gebrek aan onderhoud. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Miss Candice Midgley, a young woman with two children, had been diagnosed with cancer, but struggled for months to get access to treatment. Some of the excuses are that medical equipment is in a state of disrepair and thus cannot be used since the government has neglected to settle outstanding accounts.
The media also reported about another mother who died because the much- needed medical equipment was not functioning due to a lack of maintenance.]
A domestic worker's toddler dies because the ambulance took hours to arrive after the event. Minister, I can recount many stories like this and they cut across all race groups. The poor state of public health care affects all the poor.
Against the background of this lack of social justice, one has to question the viability of introducing such a huge programme as the NHI scheme. It is surely logical that the department should at the very least get the basics of service delivery right within the current system before any other grand schemes can be launched.
Dienslewering in die openbare gesondheidsektor is, in die algemeen, steeds uiters swak vanwe 'n gebrek aan behoorlik opgeleide personeel, veral mediese praktisyns. Mense wat aangewese is op die staat vir mediese hulp moet nie uitgelewer wees aan elemente van swak diens wat hul gesondheid verder affekteer en selfs tot hul dood kan lei nie. Dit reduseer die Handves van Regte vir Pasente, die "Patients' Rights Charter", tot net 'n waardelose stuk papier.
Verder, soos ons ook verlede jaar gemaan het, wil ons dit weer aan die Minister stel dat hul versigtig te werk moet gaan met die nasionale gesondheidsversekering. Suid-Afrika is nie werklik in staat om so 'n enorme program van stapel te stuur nie. Die kernrede is ons klein belastingbasis wat al hoe meer onder druk geplaas word deur die eise van die fiskus.
Daarom sou dit ons gerade wees om eers aandag te skenk aan basiese dienslewering in die openbare gesondheidsektor, sodat die armes onmiddelik kwaliteitdienste kan ontvang en die middelklas kan weet dat hul belastinggeld effektief in die openbare belang aangewend word. Enigiets anders is 'n skending van basiese menseregte. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Service delivery in the public health sector remains, in general, extremely poor due to the lack of properly trained staff, especially medical practitioners. People reliant on the state for medical assistance should not be at the mercy of bad service delivery that could further impact on their health, even resulting in their death. This simply reduces the Patients' Rights Charter to a worthless piece of paper.
Furthermore, as we also urged last year, we would like to put it to the Minister again that they should approach the NHI with caution. South Africa does not really have the capacity to implement such an enormous programme. The main reason for this is our small tax base, which is put under increasing pressure by the demands of the fiscus.
It would therefore be advisable to focus in the first instance on basic service delivery in the public health sector, in order for the poor to receive quality services immediately and for the middle class to know that their taxes are utilised effectively in the public's interests. Anything else is an infringement of basic human rights.]
Minister, we therefore implore you to use your budget to tackle the basic issues of service delivery before any grand schemes like the NHI is embarked upon. Thank you. [Applause.]