The Gauteng Health Department has vowed to prioritise its infrastructure by tightening security measures to mitigate against loss and damage to public property.
Speaking at the Citizens’ Forum on Tuesday in Pretoria, the provincial Head of Department, Dr Nomonde Nolutshungu, said as part of its six-month plan, the department will also streamline its supply chain management.
According to Nolutshungu, this move will help cut logistical costs and existing bottlenecks that hinder the management of the flow of goods and services.
“We have started implementing the plan and various areas of improvement have been observed. We are also strengthening our objectives regarding ethical conduct to address the issue of moral integrity amongst our public service officials.”
Through this strategy, the HOD believes that the department is laying a solid foundation to turn the tide of the public health system.
“We are acutely aware of the fact that the government can never achieve those goals without the support of everyone in the room today,” she stressed.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) in partnership with her department and medical universities in Gauteng hosted the forum.
The Citizens’ Forum enables stakeholders including community members to engage with the authorities in charge of the delivery of healthcare services. The attendees included members of the public, medical universities, non-governmental organisations, hospital boards, labour unions and healthcare professionals.
The forum’s focus on strengthening governance will assist the department to work smarter, develop a shared vision and goals, and be accountable to the citizens.
She also hopes that her department will leverage the wealth of knowledge and maximise the production of a well-trained health workforce in the province.
“This should improve our planning and budgeting processes and enhance implementation of our programmes, to place us at the better path of reaching expectation of our citizens.”
The meeting will also assist the department to secure consensus on how best to govern the relationship between the development of human capital for health and knowledge development.
The HOD told delegates that the department has prioritised improving the delivery of healthcare services and addressing the essential needs of citizens for the purposes of building and restoring trust in government services.
“It is critically important to ensure and support the predictable, equitable and sustainable production of adequately trained healthcare workers and as well as high standard knowledge production whilst providing a health service meeting at least the minimum prescribed national standards and quality,” she said.
“There is no reason for this province not to be the hub of knowledge development in the field of health sciences.” – SAnews.gov.za
