The provincial department of health has identified Alfred Nzo as an additional pilot district for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
This is over and above OR Tambo district, which was identified by the national Health Department three years ago.
Eastern Cape health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “The principle behind OR Tambo was that because of the challenges and rural nature of the area, if NHI can work there, then it can work anywhere else in the province.”
He said the same principle applied to Alfred Nzo.
NHI is a plan by the government for all citizens to have access to universal health services.
The realisation of this will require a revival of primary healthcare.
It would also see citizens, regardless of their employment status, getting access to private facilities as well, with government paying the bill under the NHI scheme.
In order to achieve this, the department of health has to undergo a complete transformation to refocus facilities as more patient-centric in line with private facilities for patients.
Deputy director-general for clinical management services in the provincial health department, Dr Patrick Maduna, said processes were in place to determine the funding to roll out NHI in Alfred Nzo.
Last year the provincial department signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with four higher education institutions in the province in a bid to tackle some of the problems in the health sector.
The institutions were Walter Sisulu, Fort Hare, Rhodes and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan universities.
Among the goals set for the partnership is ensuring the development of sustainable, equitable and affordable primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services in the province, in line with the efforts of the NHI.
On Friday, at a seminar organised by Fort Hare’s Albertina Sisulu Executive Leadership Programme in Health, Maduna said all four institutions would be engaged to determine where they fit in with regards to the aims of NHI.
“Our aim is to focus on one district at a time, then use that as a template to roll out activities to other districts,” he said.
Kupelo gave a breakdown of progress in OR Tambo which indicated that the department’s NHI plans were on track in that district (see sidebar report). — vuyiswav@dispatch.co.za
NHI pilot for Alfred Nzo
This is over and above OR Tambo district, which was identified by the national Health Department three years ago.
Eastern Cape health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “The principle behind OR Tambo was that because of the challenges and rural nature of the area, if NHI can work there, then it can work anywhere else in the province.”
He said the same principle applied to Alfred Nzo.
NHI is a plan by the government for all citizens to have access to universal health services.
The realisation of this will require a revival of primary healthcare.
It would also see citizens, regardless of their employment status, getting access to private facilities as well, with government paying the bill under the NHI scheme.
In order to achieve this, the department of health has to undergo a complete transformation to refocus facilities as more patient-centric in line with private facilities for patients.
Deputy director-general for clinical management services in the provincial health department, Dr Patrick Maduna, said processes were in place to determine the funding to roll out NHI in Alfred Nzo.
Last year the provincial department signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with four higher education institutions in the province in a bid to tackle some of the problems in the health sector.
The institutions were Walter Sisulu, Fort Hare, Rhodes and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan universities.
Among the goals set for the partnership is ensuring the development of sustainable, equitable and affordable primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services in the province, in line with the efforts of the NHI.
On Friday, at a seminar organised by Fort Hare’s Albertina Sisulu Executive Leadership Programme in Health, Maduna said all four institutions would be engaged to determine where they fit in with regards to the aims of NHI.
“Our aim is to focus on one district at a time, then use that as a template to roll out activities to other districts,” he said.
Kupelo gave a breakdown of progress in OR Tambo which indicated that the department’s NHI plans were on track in that district (see sidebar report). — vuyiswav@dispatch.co.za
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