GERMAN doctor, Dr Helmut Fritsche, also known as the “flying doctor”, has been ap pointed chairman of the Frere Hos pital board.
Fritsche, who was born in Ger many in 1937, moved to East London in 1990 to pursue a career in medicine. He closed his private prac tice in 2011 after 16 years, but has not given medicine a rest and now works for the University of Fort Hare Clinic on its East London campus where he consults with students and staff for “peanuts”.
Fritsche made a name for himself as the “flying doctor”, hiring a he licopter at his own expense to fly to rural clinics and inaccessible areas to visit patients.
Now the doctor chairs a 15-mem ber hospital board recently approved by health MEC, Sicelo Gqobana. Fritsche is no stranger to the public sector and has on numerous occa sions challenged the province on health matters, even when he was the spokesperson of the South African Medical Association in the Border region.
“I must say I’m very proud the majority of the board elected me as chairperson because if you look at the members 60% are ANC connect ed.
“And if you remember my history, I was fighting the ANC for 10 years, very hard, complaining the ANC was not doing well in provincial health care. But the same ANC I was fighting voted for me, that makes me very happy,” said the 76-year old.
“I believe this is a change of con sciousness. People who are deployed from the leading political party re alised, I believe, we cannot carry on like that, something must change, because we are in deep trouble. And they want now, somebody like me, who has the intention to deal with constructive proposals and change for the better.”
Fritsche said the hospital board is a corrective between the hospital management, the directorates in Bhisho and the public. It exists for information flow from the public to the higher offices.
“It is some kind of transmitter.”
He has set as one of his major goals the improvement of dialogue between the public and the service provider. Fritsche said this, though it is not a immediate solution, would put them on the right track.
He also intends on dealing with patient complaints when necessary and emphasised the need for more qualified people to deal with health issues in the hospital. He also plans to demand that administrators be better educated as they were currently driving qualified people away from East London, by demanding unnecessary documentation from specialists, and as a result, patients suffer.
lamented the situation of nurses: “The nurses sometimes you will not believe it, they are incredibly overworked, incredibly stressed, incredibly underpaid, incredibly dissapointed, disappointed because promises are not kept, and that is something that should not happen.”
He also wants to facilitate a di alogue between workers and man agement at the institution. He said staff can approach him with complaints and “we’ll fight, because I’m a fighter. I’m not a speaker, I’m a thinker and a fighter,” said Fritsche praising his own negotiating skills.
The retired doctor has been with a passion for his patients, has not closed shop to the staff and students of the University of Fort Hare where he has been acting as the medical consultant at the Fort Hare EL campus clinic for the past six years.
He recalled how the clinic operated initially from a caravan, however since the university bought the building he was operating his practice from, they have renovated it and the clinic now operates from Fritsche’s old offices.
Students and staff do not pay for consultations at the clinic.
“I get paid peanuts,” laughed Fritsche who takes home R3800 working at the clinic alongside his nurse wife.
He said he does this because he is committed and it is something he wants to do.
“I’m retired from private, and I think I can contribute something. I think one ultimate demand in medicine is prevention, which I can do here, is better than cure,” he said.
Even with all this, Fritsche still makes time to fly out to clinics in remote areas. Asked how he manages, he responded: “I am disciplined, and I was born and raised in Germany.People know the German people are disciplined. I make a straight forward schedule.
“I’m not only doing medicine, I’m writing a novel – a love story, I’m playing the piano, I’m flying the he licopter, and I’m going on safaris, and I have a 16-year-old son who needs me and I’m deeply in love with my wife.” —
Frere board has new chair
Fritsche, who was born in Ger many in 1937, moved to East London in 1990 to pursue a career in medicine. He closed his private prac tice in 2011 after 16 years, but has not given medicine a rest and now works for the University of Fort Hare Clinic on its East London campus where he consults with students and staff for “peanuts”.
Fritsche made a name for himself as the “flying doctor”, hiring a he licopter at his own expense to fly to rural clinics and inaccessible areas to visit patients.
Now the doctor chairs a 15-mem ber hospital board recently approved by health MEC, Sicelo Gqobana. Fritsche is no stranger to the public sector and has on numerous occa sions challenged the province on health matters, even when he was the spokesperson of the South African Medical Association in the Border region.
“I must say I’m very proud the majority of the board elected me as chairperson because if you look at the members 60% are ANC connect ed.
“And if you remember my history, I was fighting the ANC for 10 years, very hard, complaining the ANC was not doing well in provincial health care. But the same ANC I was fighting voted for me, that makes me very happy,” said the 76-year old.
“I believe this is a change of con sciousness. People who are deployed from the leading political party re alised, I believe, we cannot carry on like that, something must change, because we are in deep trouble. And they want now, somebody like me, who has the intention to deal with constructive proposals and change for the better.”
Fritsche said the hospital board is a corrective between the hospital management, the directorates in Bhisho and the public. It exists for information flow from the public to the higher offices.
“It is some kind of transmitter.”
He has set as one of his major goals the improvement of dialogue between the public and the service provider. Fritsche said this, though it is not a immediate solution, would put them on the right track.
He also intends on dealing with patient complaints when necessary and emphasised the need for more qualified people to deal with health issues in the hospital. He also plans to demand that administrators be better educated as they were currently driving qualified people away from East London, by demanding unnecessary documentation from specialists, and as a result, patients suffer.
lamented the situation of nurses: “The nurses sometimes you will not believe it, they are incredibly overworked, incredibly stressed, incredibly underpaid, incredibly dissapointed, disappointed because promises are not kept, and that is something that should not happen.”
He also wants to facilitate a di alogue between workers and man agement at the institution. He said staff can approach him with complaints and “we’ll fight, because I’m a fighter. I’m not a speaker, I’m a thinker and a fighter,” said Fritsche praising his own negotiating skills.
The retired doctor has been with a passion for his patients, has not closed shop to the staff and students of the University of Fort Hare where he has been acting as the medical consultant at the Fort Hare EL campus clinic for the past six years.
He recalled how the clinic operated initially from a caravan, however since the university bought the building he was operating his practice from, they have renovated it and the clinic now operates from Fritsche’s old offices.
Students and staff do not pay for consultations at the clinic.
“I get paid peanuts,” laughed Fritsche who takes home R3800 working at the clinic alongside his nurse wife.
He said he does this because he is committed and it is something he wants to do.
“I’m retired from private, and I think I can contribute something. I think one ultimate demand in medicine is prevention, which I can do here, is better than cure,” he said.
Even with all this, Fritsche still makes time to fly out to clinics in remote areas. Asked how he manages, he responded: “I am disciplined, and I was born and raised in Germany.People know the German people are disciplined. I make a straight forward schedule.
“I’m not only doing medicine, I’m writing a novel – a love story, I’m playing the piano, I’m flying the he licopter, and I’m going on safaris, and I have a 16-year-old son who needs me and I’m deeply in love with my wife.” —
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