SA Government to Seek Loans for Healthcare Expansion as Overcrowding Worsens

• Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that there are plans to build three new district hospitals to address overcrowding
• Motsoaledi said the new central hospitals would be located in Mpumalanga, North West, and Northern Cape
• Motsoaledi said that it is not foreigners who overcrowd hospitals, as 86% of the facilities are being used by South Africans

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced that the planning for three new district hospitals is in the very early stages. During his budget vote address in Parliament on Wednesday, Motsoaledi announced that the new central hospitals are planned for Mpumalanga, the North West, and the Northern Cape.

What did the minister say?

The minister said that the three new central hospitals are part of the plans to address the chronic overcrowding at healthcare facilities in South Africa. Motsoaledi stated that the overcrowding and strain are due to the growing population and not necessarily due to foreigners seeking medical assistance.

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Motsoaledi said six hospitals are currently at different stages of construction to ease pressure in Gauteng and other underserved regions.

But ActionSA MP and former doctor Kgosi Letlape said his party wants the Constitution amended to restrict access to public healthcare for foreign nationals. He argued that Section 27 should apply specifically to South African citizens, claiming that hospitals are being overwhelmed by non-citizens at the expense of locals.

Government to seek loans

Motsoaledi said South Africans account for 86% of patients using public health facilities, with rapid urbanisation placing additional strain on already overburdened hospitals.

He cautioned that building new hospitals is a long-term process, with planning, design, construction, and commissioning expected to take several years. He warned that, without intervention, overcrowding will continue to worsen, leading to increasingly dire conditions in health facilities.

He stated that to fund the planned hospital expansions, the government is expected to seek loans from both local and international financial institutions.

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What you need to know about overcrowding in SA hospitals

• An overcrowding crisis at Johannesburg’s Helen Joseph Hospital has intensified, with 45 patients forced to sleep on chairs and cold floors in the casualty ward this week.
• The South African government has deployed members of SAPS to public healthcare facilities across the country following growing tensions in several areas where citizens have attempted to forcibly remove undocumented foreign nationals from clinics and hospitals.
• Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla has admitted that Gauteng’s public health system is at breaking point. A clause in the National Health Act requires the state to provide free basic medical care to everyone, including undocumented foreign nationals.
• The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised concerns about the Gauteng Health Department’s financial crisis, revealing that the department is running out of funds, threatening its ability to pay suppliers.
• The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has defended the rights of foreign nationals to free healthcare.

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GHD overspends on salaries for suspended staff

In another article, Briefly News reported that the Department of Health was bleeding millions paying suspended employees. MEC for Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko revealed that the province spends more than R13 million on salaries to those at home.

South Africans discussed the revelation, and some blamed the African National Congress, accusing it of not properly running Gauteng.

Source: Briefly News