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R/€ 
R/£ Health minister slams dirt and attitudes
November 20, 2009 Edition 2
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told hospital chief executives and managers yesterday "to shape up" or be removed.
"We need to shape up. We need to do things better for South Africans. We need changes very quickly," Motsoaledi told senior officials from five provinces during a Boksburg meeting.
"There is a problem... we are going to reverse that."
Motsoaledi said a "diagnostic" of the nation's hospitals would include a complete assessment of skills and the running of hospitals.
The R10 million audit would be a long-term intervention to address the ailing public health system. It would start in January and take three months to complete.
In the short term, control teams would go to hospitals to examine the safety and security of patients, cleanliness, waiting times, staff attitudes, the availability of drugs, and more.
"I don't think it will be an exaggeration to say that some of our hospitals are death traps in terms of infections," he said.
Media reports carrying "horror stories" about hospitals in the country were largely true, the minister added.
"One of the most embarrassing things that does not need money (to fix) is that most of your hospitals are dirty."
A hospital was meant to be one of the cleanest public institutions, but patients across the country found the opposite when they entered them, he noted, urging the officials to treat their staff like human beings.
He warned the hospitals' top management that staff attitudes and hospital cleanliness were a direct reflection of management style.
"If your hospital is dirty, it's a reflection of who you are... what leadership are you giving."
A lack of staff could not be blamed for lengthy waits for hospital treatment, nor could a lack of resources, he said.
"Why are people queueing for six hours?" he asked. "This is also a function of management and not only an issue of human resources."
In his address, Motsoaledi outlined the government's plans to improve the country's health care system.
This included a return to the basics, which, Motsoaledi said, South Africans had forgotten.
The government's plans included the much-debated National Health Insurance scheme.
"It doesn't make sense that your life depends on the depth of your pocket," he said. - Sapa
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