09 June 2019
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has applauded management and staff of Ngwelezane Clinic for the smooth running and upkeep of the facility - even when no-one is watching.
During an unannounced visit to the clinic earlier today, the MEC expressed her satisfaction with what she found, from the cleanliness of its premises and wards to the positive experience reviews from patients waiting in the queues.
.This was the MEC's fourth unannounced visit to a health facility since her appointment 11 days ago, and she has vowed that more will follow.
"The purpose of our visit, as I’ve said recently, is to try to visit as many health facilities as possible across the province. We did not receive any complaints about this clinic, but we decided to come just to see how people work when no-one is watching," said the MEC.
"This is one of our 24 hour clinics that work seven days a week, so we wanted to see how they work because sometimes the level of service that is experienced during the week is not the same as what you’d find on a weekend. Although you can see that the structure is old, the service is of a proper and acceptable level. The facility is clean, and they have a sufficient number of nurses, who are able to help the community.
"There are certain challenges here and there, such as a faulty ablution facility, but we will intervene in that regard as of tomorrow. All in all, we are pleased that the facility is running well. We've also been made aware that access in an out of the clinic is sometimes difficult because it’s in the middle of the CBD, which is something we need to raise with the municipality."
MEC Simelane-Zulu also reiterated that the Department would be seeking ways to improve the response times of state ambulances in the province.
"The clinic is a feeder facility to Ngwelezane and Queen Nandi hospitals. We've been made aware that there are certain challenges regarding the turn-around time of ambulances here, which has been a common feature from the feedback that we are receiving as we visit facilities. We will be meeting with the management of Emergency Medical Services to deal with that."
Cllr Madl'izinyoka Ntanzi, of Ward 28 in Ngwelezane, welcomed the MEC's unannounced visit, and said he hoped she would attend to the challenges faced by the clinic, and elsewhere in the province.
As part of its bid to improve the quality of primary healthcare and client satisfaction, the KZN Department of Health remains committed to maximising the number of clinics that comply with the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance programme. The Ideal Clinic programme aims to systematically transform and improve all PHC facilities in order to meet national standards in preparation for the introduction of the National Health Insurance. To this end, facilities are inspected on an ongoing basis by the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC).
An Ideal Clinic can be defined as one that has good infrastructure, adequate staff, adequate medicine and supplies, good administrative processes, and sufficient adequate bulk supplies. It uses applicable clinical policies, protocols and guidelines; harnesses partner and stakeholder support; and also collaborates with other government departments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations to address the social determinants of health.
This page last edited on
26 November, 2019
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