An enquiry into the qualifications of hospital executive officers and clinic managers should be launched, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.DA health spokesman Mike Waters said the party also called for minimum criteria for hospital managers "so that patients in the public sector can be assured at the very least of a well-managed health facility".
He said the cause of many of the deaths from South Africa's cholera epidemic was the mismanagement of health facilities by managers who did not have the experience or the training to manage their facilities properly.
"The example that should affect us all most closely is that of the CEO of the East London Hospital Complex, who was responsible for the dilapidated state of Frere Hospital so tragically exposed in 2007, [who] has a degree in politics, a qualification as an ANC councillor and no training or experience in hospital management," Waters said.
Replies to parliamentary questions asked by the DA over the past year indicated that hospital executives and clinic managers often did not have experience or training for the job, or only had a certificate course in health management, he said.
"The lives of many South Africans could be saved if we focused on one of the basic fundamentals of good health care -- proper hospital and clinic management," Waters said. The request for an enquiry was contained in a letter to health minister Barbara Hogan written by Waters.
Source : Sapa /sb/gj
Date : 08 Feb 2009 14:26
