Huge shortfall in health

COLLAPSE: POINTS TO BETRAYAL OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT ENSHRINED IN CONSTITUTION

- SUZAN THEMBEKWAYO

The EFF places health care at the centre of the struggle for economic justice and human dignity, as highlighted in our third National People's Assembly discussion documents. South Africa's health care system is collapsing, leaving the most vulnerable in society – workers and the poor – without access to adequate medical care.

Despite the constitutional guarantee of health care services for all, the current state of public health care is a betrayal of this fundamental right.

South Africa's public health care infrastructure consists of 5,505 facilities, of which 57% are clinics. Yet, only 1,507 out of 3,152 clinics meet the standards of an "ideal clinic," leaving nearly half unable to deliver essential services due to poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing and lack of support services.

Public hospitals fare no better – of the 696 facilities inspected in 2017, only five met the required norms and standards.

The challenges extend beyond infrastructure. There are over 41,300 vacancies in public health care facilities, leaving patients to endure long waiting times and insufficient care.

A misguided policy in the 1990s that shut down vocational training nursing colleges has led to a dire shortage of trained nurses, exacerbating the crisis.