President Cyril Ramaphosa said the opening of the Dr Pixley Isaka Ka Seme Memorial Hospital in KwaMashu, north of Durban, would help address the growing health-care burden of non-communicable diseases.
Ramaphosa, speaking at the launch of the hospital on Friday, referred to a Statistics SA report published in November which warned that non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, cancers and others would challenge state health-care’s ability to deliver on services.
“With more people living with non-communicable diseases it is essential that health-care systems respond accordingly at a primary health-care level, particularly with regards to regular screening to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.”
He said the Dr Pixley Isaka Ka Seme facility will play a critical role in this regard.
Ramaphosa said the opening of this hospital reflects the government’s commitment to advancing the call made by the Freedom Charter for free medical care and hospitalisation to be provided for all, and for the health of women and children to be prioritised.
“This facility has been built in response to the growing pressing health-care needs of the approximately 1.5 million residents of KwaMashu, Inanda, Ntuzuma and the surrounding communities in northern Durban.
“It will relieve pressure on the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Addington Hospital, and will cater for in-patients at a regional level, with referrals from surrounding district level facilities.”
He said the Census 2022 data points to a growing population, but also that the vast majority of South Africans rely on the public sector to meet their health-care needs.
Ramaphosa said one of the country’s greatest achievements was the ability to provide quality health-care services free to the population.
“That we are moving ahead with the introduction of National Health Insurance that will further democratise access to health-care services, is something of which we can be proud.
“Our experience with the Covid-19 pandemic, together with the experiences of other developing countries, exposed the fragilities of global co-operation in health.
“We were confronted with a stark reality of being pushed to the back of the queue when it came to accessing life-saving medical supplies and equipment, and vaccines,” Ramaphosa said.
THE MERCURY