Department of Health

The Northern Cape Department of Health's vision is to achieve excellent, holistic, people-centred and affordable healthcare in the Northern Cape.

Vision
Health service excellence for all.

Mission
The department is committed to:

• Providing quality healthcare services.
• Promoting a healthy society in which people care for one another and take responsibility for their health.
• Integrating comprehensive services through its caring and multiskilled professionals.
• Using evidence-based care strategies and partnerships to maximise efficiencies to the benefit of all.

Core values

• Respect (towards colleagues and clients, rule of law and cultural diversity)
• Honesty (discipline, integrity and ethics)
• Excellence (through effectiveness, efficiency and quality healthcare)
• Humanity (caring, institution, facility and community)

Achievements
The department has achieved the following in the last five years:

• Three health districts, namely Frances Baard, Pixley Ka Seme and John Taolo Gaetsewe, received awards at national level for Best Health Practices.
• The department launched its first District Health Council in De Aar.
• The newly renovated Jan Kempdorp Treatment Site for HIV and AIDS was launched in April 2008, in partnership with Right To Care.
• In December 2007, the first privately sponsored antiretroviral clinic in the Northern Cape, the Ulysses Gogi Modise Wellness Clinic, was opened at Kathu in the Gamagara Municipality. This venture is a partnership between Kumba Iron Ore, Calibre, the Gamagara Municipality and the provincial Department of Health.
• The department hosted its very first HIV and AIDS Stakeholder Consultative Conference at the Mayibuye Cultural Centre in Galeshewe in May 2008.
• Tuberculosis (TB) outcomes have improved in both the Frances Baard and Siyanda districts, which were earlier declared crisis districts. This can be seen in the current cure rates of 68.5% and 63.5% for Siyanda and Frances Baard respectively. For the past two years, they have both hovered around 55%.
• The department launched the Provincial TB Crisis Plan and held extensive 'TB Blitzes' in each of the five districts in an attempt to halt the spread of the disease.
• The HIV and AIDS prevalence rate decreased from 18.5% to 16.1% in 2007.
• Outbreaks of re-emerging diseases, such as the outbreak of polio in Namibia, close to the provincial border, have been contained.
• The department has completed the epidemicpreparedness plan regarding communicabledisease control for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
• In trying to improve the management of childhood illnesses, the department has an immunisation rate of above 85%, measles at 91.3% and vitamin A coverage of 100%.
• The infant-mortality rate decreased from 41.8 deaths per 1 000 live births in 1998 to 33.4 deaths per 1 000 live births in 2007.
• Primary-healthcare facilities offering prevention of mother-to-child transmission increased from zero to 163 by the end of 2007.
• The number of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses practitioners has increased from 265 to 282.
• Alexkor's Alexander Bay Hospital was transferred to the Northern Cape Administration.
• The following clinics have been opened: Phuthanang, MaDoyle, Petrusville, Ethembeni, Aggeneys, Platfontein, Douglas, Phillipstown, De Aar and Aggeneys Community Health Centre.
• The following hospitals have been opened: Manne Dipico, Abraham Esau, Joe Slovo and Barkly West.
• The new Garies Hospital has been operationalised.
• Sonar and cardiotocography machines were purchased for Gordonia Hospital in Upington in an attempt to reduce the number of referrals to Kimberley.
• The year 2006 saw the successful transfer of the Forensic Medical Services from the South African Police Service to the Department of Health.
• The department has provided 584 wheelchairs to patients in need.
• Two youth centres in Upington and Colesberg were established, with the support of LoveLife and the National Adolescent-Friendly Clinic Initiative, to deal with challenges facing the youth.
• A total of 600 auxiliary nurses have started on a learnership programme.
• Occupational Specific Dispensation has been implemented for nurses.
• One student from the John Taolo Gaetsewe district is busy with her final year of medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand.
• Eight midwives from rural areas are completing an advanced-midwives course.
• The department has provided financial assistance to 25 pharmacy assistants, 30 managers for advanced health management, 31 students for radiography, eight hospital managers towards their Masters in Public Health, and nine professional nurses specialising to complement specialist doctors in primary healthcare, critical care and theatre technique.

Challenges
The department faces various challenges in the Northern Cape, including the following:

• The geographical vastness of the province, and the subsequent distances between communities, so patients have to travel long distances to access health services.
• The constant supply of medication to all primary-healthcare facilities, especially those in outlaying areas, is complicated and costly.
• TB and HIV co-infection exacerbates the problem of drug accessibility, as well as the increase in multidrug-resistant cases and the emergence of extreme drug resistance.
• The de-establishment of a cross-boundary municipality, creating an additional rural municipality that extends the province further, placing more pressure on resources.
• The available pool of scarce and critical skills.
• The equitable distribution of health and human resources.
• The lack of a retention strategy for human resources.
• High workload for health personnel.
• High maternal-mortality rate.
• High syphilis rate of 8.5%.
• Lack of linen, suitable transport for rural roads and outdated medical equipment.

Future plans
The department has the following plans for the future:

• Recruitment and retention of health professionals.
• Construction of the Gordonia, Kimberley, Postmasburg, De Aar and Tshwaragano hospitals, as well as Kutlwanong Community Health Centre.
• Establishment of the Northern Cape Nursing College.
• Completion and staffing of the new Kimberley Mental Health Facility.
• Reduction of maternal deaths by improving the quality of antenatal care.
• Scaling up coverage and improving quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and reducing mother-to-child transmission to less than 5%.
• Improving immunisation coverage by eliminating measles and eradicating polio.
• Achieving an 85% TB cure rate.
• Improving healthy living through intensified health-promotion programmes.

CONTACT DETAILS

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